Break Away
by Nubia
Summary: Evie is the last chance for her race: The Empaths. Now, she travles down a dangerous path riddled with obstacles and hardships to save her people from their exile. But at what cost? [See story Hidden for more on this series]
1. Prolgue

A/N Okay, here's a taste of my newest story. It is the sequal to Avenger, but you don't have to read that story to understand this one. hope you all enjoy.

Prologue:

Her breath was hitching as she tried controll her sobs. Dolph, she had to remember Dolph. He was the one who had asked her to do this. The arrow had pierced her shoulder, but Marnie was safe and that helped her fight back the pain. When the second arrow had pierced her thigh, keeping her pinned to the saddle, she had let out a low moan, to tired to scream.

If she could just get to a town, she would be fine. Marnie would be fine. And she would wake up and this nightmare would be over. Kempton never would have found her and made her his prized slave. The scars on her back that was the proof of her disobedience would be gone, and she would never have known the taste of the whip.

But she knew it wasn't true. She had run away and Kempton had taken her into slavery. He had beaten her into submission countless times. The scar that bisected her right eye was proof of the first night. The white line around her neck was proof that Kempton had used the whip hold to drag her around.

And the visions, the memories of the people before her would haunt her forever.

Her life was changed and though only two years had passed, she would never be the same girl again. She knew more about her life then she ever had before. She knew more about her heritage then anyone would know. And it was all because of the child who sat before her on the horses back. She hugged Marnie close and leaned further forward on the horse, urging it to go faster, ever faster.

She had to get to the king, for she knew things that no one else could tell him, things that would send the country into pandemonium. But things that would bring them closer together for it.

After all, she was soon to be the last remaining Empath in all of Tortall if she didn't do something. And quick.


	2. Chapter One

**Part One**

**Chapter one:**

**Ciem sighed as he settled down in his bedroll beside the fire. His mother and father, Novellee and Burdock, were in a makeshift tent a few yards back, as were Alanna and George. Sixty, he thought, and still going. He didn't think they'd stop until they died. Daine and Numair were also in a tent.**

**Kel, Dom and Neal were around the campfire like him. The collected group of nobles had come to escort them back to Corus. Ciem didn't mind, but he didn't have much to say to them. They were much older, more his mother's age. But when they spoke, they had intelligent conversations.**

**Ciem sighed as he rolled onto his back, pillowing his head on his hands and stared up at the sky. It was so different here then it was in Serinda. Everything there was so much more exotic, so much more beautiful because of the things it grew there.**

**He missed it dreadfully when they came to Tortall each year for three months. It was to become his kingdom upon his marriage and he couldn't wait. He had so many dreams, so many ambitions for his people.**

**But there was nothing he could do, as yet. They had returned to Tortall this year with the express purpose of finding him a wife. It wouldn't matter any more in Serinda who he married. The country was so secure that no one cared.**

**Serinda's mages were so advanced in the usage of the Gift now, that whoever was in Serinda's good grace's was set until someone could bring Serinda down.**

**But the beauty of it was Serinda was so inactive in the war dealings that no one wanted to conquer it. So they were safe for the time being. That was why they could afford to leave their country in the trusted hands of the royal advisor Trent.**

**He heard a stirring and a horse's call and assumed it was on of their horses. But the horse refused to cease its cries and soon another sound joined it. A child's weeping.**

**Ciem wasn't the only one to hear it. He heard the other's stirring and soon they were all standing about the fire, listening intently. Daine gave a cry and Numair caught her as she slumped forward a bit. Ciem knew her to be calling to the horse, for he could see the Gift working beneath her skin. It had always fascinated him to watch someone use magic.**

**Suddenly the horse burst through the foliage surrounding the camp. It was black as night, its sides heaving and sweat frothing on its side. A man sat atop it, staring blankly at them, blinking in the sudden light of the fire. The crying they heard came from the child sitting in the man's lap. The flesh around her eye was blackened and there were finger imprints around the girl's neck.**

"**What the hell?" Ciem asked, just as puzzled as everyone else. Daine was rushing forward, scolding the young man. She was extremely angry, furious in fact. And from her scolding words he could tell why.**

"**That horse lost a shoe yesterday, yet you continue to ride him. You haven't got off of him since you got on in fact. And there are numerous bruises and scratches. His back two legs are swollen and he is covered in sweat. Get off him this instant."**

**That got to the small man, and indeed he was small. He couldn't have been much taller then Alanna when he was on his feet. And he looked so slight. At Daine's words, the man looked at her and slowly shook his head of dark red coloring.**

"**Yes, you will get off. Or I'll pull you off!" Daine threatened as she stamped her foot. The poor horse was all she thought about, was all she _could_ think about, all she could see. Again the man shook his head. The child had stopped crying and was struggling away from the man.**

**Novellee walked forward and grabbed the child under the arms, lifting her of the horse and settling her on her hip. The child gave a hiccup and sighed, then nestled close to her warmth.**

"**Numair, Burdock, pull him off," Daine demanded. The horse looked ready to keel over in that instant. They jumped to comply, grabbing the man's arms and shoulders and pulling at him.**

**Evie realized what they were about to do and tried to fight them, despite the pain in her shoulder. Tears trickled down her face silently, unnoticed as she struggled against them, digging her nails into their skin, trying to find purchase to pull them away. But she was too weak to fight and they easily evaded her hands.**

**They grabbed her tattered clothes and she barely had the strength to moan, "No, don't."**

**They grabbed her, gave a mighty tug and the pain sliced through her, searing along her nerves. She screamed in agony, trying to pull away, but she was so weak, it sounded like a low moan, one that caught in her throat and no one heard.**

**She struggled harder as they pulled harder, Ciem coming to add his strength to the lot. She thought she would die with the pain. "Please, stop," she whimpered but they paid her no attention.**

**Marnie began to scream, pounding her pathetic fists at Novellee. "Stop! Stop! You're hurting her!"**

**Because of the angle in which the arrow had entered her leg, the pulling did nothing but hurt Evie and she wanted to die, wanted to beg them to kill her and get the agony over with. They continued to tug and finally she leaned over and did what she had been afraid to do since the arrow had entered her.**

**She grabbed the protruding shaft and with an agonized scream that was clearly heard, wrenched it out. It tore through her infected skin and she began to weep. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before, not even when Kempton had tried to beat obedience into her.**

**She was flung forward by the sudden release of her leg and she flew into Ciem, knocking him over as she sprawled across his chest and fainted dead away. All clearly saw the arrow protruding from her back and the bloody mass that had been her thigh. **

"**Dear Gods," Alanna whispered. Without a word, Neal came forward, his hands glowing with green light and began to heal her wounds. But it didn't look good. She was riddled with fever and infection. He looked to Alanna and she knelt to the prone figure, and added her Gift to the task.**

**Ciem disentangled himself from the man, as he still believed Evie as such, and kneeled beside him. The arrow was still clutched in her hand and he bent to inspect it.**

**The arrowhead was broad, and thin, made to slice through the air and through flesh. The edges were rough and jagged, made to tear the flesh if it was pulled back out. Which was why both had been left alone.**

**A few minutes later, both Neal and Alanna looked up, their expressions filled with worry. "It doesn't look good. But there is nothing much we can do for the moment. The wounds are closed over and cleansed, but we can't rid her of the fever for some reason."**

**Evie moaned in her sleep, her unconscious filled with nightmares and lived horrors. She thrashed about, turning her head from side to side, as if trying to ride herself of the visions.**

"**We'll have to keep her warm and sweat out the infection giving her the fever. It's not the best way, but at the moment, it's the only way. Ciem, you'll have to lie with him to keep him warm through the night. Novellee, you and Burdock can keep the child after I see to her. Let's move," Alanna commanded, dusting her hands together, a leader through and through.**

**After bringing the man to the fire, he saw that he was more of a boy still. His face had a scar running straight across his eye, and he wondered if he was blind in it. The cleanness of the cut made him think it was either a dagger or a throwing knife. Ciem didn't see the line around his throat, as it was to pale against the boys white skin. And he was so light he guessed that if he saw his stomach, his ribs would be sticking out.**

**Evie was moaning again, and Marnie didn't like it. But her intelligence was that of someone who had had years of schooling and she kept her mouth shut. She knew that Evie was her only chance and she wouldn't do a thing that would jeopardize their journey. She snuggled against the woman holding her and fell asleep.**

**Ciem lay down with the boy in his arms after dragging the bedroll closer to the fire. He himself was sweating with the heat, but the boy was shivering and moaning, as if he were cold.**

**The boy began to weep, silently, as if afraid that if he made to much noise he would be heard and shunned. Ciem, no stranger to the healing ward, talked to the boy, hoping the sound of his voice would sooth. But it didn't. With each word that left his mouth, the boy flinched and whimpered. **

**The boy brought up his arms between them and pushed against Ciem, trying to escape, trying to get away. Ciem fell silent and the boy stilled, obviously forgetting that he was there. Something was strange about the boy, Ciem could see it in his face, hear it when he moaned. It was almost as if he was a girl.**

**Before he could ponder on it more, fatigue caught him and he drifted to sleep, warmed from the boy's fevered body.**


	3. Chapter Two

A/N Sorry guys. I've been busy with school. Highschool is alot different then junior high. Anyways, here's chapter two.

Chapter two:

Evie came slowly awake. She hadn't as yet figured out where she was, but she knew she wasn't in her cage like Kempton had left her. She remained utterly still, her breath even and deep as if in sleep.

Voices flittered about her and she knew none of them. Where the hell was she? She searched her memory for any clue and it all came rushing back to her. The horse, the arrows, the pain, Dolph's hurried words and the fragments of meaning she had gotten from his hushed explanation, Marnie. She could fell the pain now, deep throbs in her back and thigh, but she remained silent and still as death.

The voices began to take shape and she was able to make out the words. They were talking about her and Marnie! But they believed her a boy. It didn't surprise her really. With her dark red hair cut short as a boy's and her chest flat as a boy's, it was hard to see her as a girl.

Her body began to ache from laying still and she knew she had to move soon. Her head was pounding and she knew right away that she had had the fever. She had had it once before, when she had been seven and had had the same reactions as with this one.

But that time no one had been there to care for her and she had pulled herself through. She had always been remarkably healthy and healed very quickly. She had thought that it had been good genes, but now she knew it to be a trait that all empaths had.

Okay, she thought, time to get moving. With a groan she sat up, placing a hand to her aching head. But after two long years of living with pain she knew how to control it.

Her stirrings brought attention to herself and she crawled to her knees, escaping the suffocating heat of the bedroll. She was infinitely grateful in that moment to the old slave man, Calder, who had given her the men's clothes she was now garbed in.

"So, the thief awakes," she heard a voice hiss and looked up at the eleven pairs of eyes fastened on her in a semi-circle surrounding her. She searched frantically through them and saw Marnie's aqua eyes grinning at her and knew relief. That child was the key to unlock all the secrets, she knew. And she didn't want to loose her now, even if her death would make Evie very happy.

She pushed herself to her feet and swayed a bit before gaining control over her body and standing still. "Water," she croaked.

A woman came towards her. They shared the height of little over five feet and red hair. Evie's hair was much darker and her eyes, she thought, were much prettier then this woman's dull violet.

Evie's eyes were a strikingly dark purple so dark they were black without direct light shinning in them. Kempton had often said that her eyes were hideous, but Evie knew now that they had come from her ancestors and she was proud of them. Unconsciously, her chin raised defiantly, a habit that she had gained as Kempton's slave.

The woman approaching her handed out a bag and Evie reluctantly grasped it. She held it, suspicion clear in her eyes. The woman sighed and took a drink from the bag, then handed it back. Her doubts cleared, Evie sucked greedily at the water as all eye's remained on her.

When she was done, the woman took it from her and set it on the ground. When she spoke, her voice was riddled with distrust. "We want your name. And please explain how you came by a noble's horse and the arrow in your back. It would also be wise of you to explain how you came to have a noble's daughter in your presence."

The woman glared at her and Evie meet her gaze without flinching. She waited a long time before speaking up, fighting the urge to laugh. Marnie? A noble's daughter? Where had the ever gotten that idea? In her best man's voice, for she wanted to keep the image, she stated, "My name is Edward and what I am doing, my lady, is no business of yours." There was a gasp from the people who were listening, but she didn't pause. "I will have the horse back and the child and I will be on my way. Give them to me now, and we will be out of you hair."

"And where will you go? You are hurt, have the fever. I should know, it was Neal and I who healed you when we dragged you off the horse."

"I no longer have the fever, and where I go is nothing to you. Now, give me the child!" Evie said calmly. She couldn't allow herself to become emotional. Emotions left her weak, left her open to memories.

"You're not leaving until I say you can leave. Now get back in bed before your fever comes back stronger then before," Alanna grabbed her arm, thinking to drag her back to the bedroll.

Evie jerked against the hold, twisting her arm so that Alanna would have to contort painfully to hold her. She broke free and stepped back quickly. "I cannot stay with you. I must leave!"

"Why?" came a voice. Evie turned to it and saw a young man striding towards them. He was quite tall and immensely handsome. His black hair fell across his forehead and danced into his eyes as she looked into them. They were the brightest blue she had ever seen.

Think Evie, she scolded herself. Think of something to say that will allow you to leave. Genius stuck and she drew herself up proudly. "I must return the child to her parents. She was visiting her relatives at the coast and I was with them, the master's valet. Bandits attacked us and we are the only two left. I am returning her to her family. We must leave immediately, for her family deserves to know the truth."

She was smug with her triumph, but she hid it quite well as she had learned to do. A mask of blank expression covered her face and she used it as a shield, had often used it against Kempton, the man who had been the one to force her to create it. If he had seen the force of her emotions, he would have known she was an empath, and she to would be one of the thousands Kempton was bent on killing. But they didn't know that and they would let her go now and she would get away and save her people.

"Why are you telling us now when you didn't want to a few minutes ago?" another woman asked. She was older then the man, with blond hair and gray eyes. She looked deadly, her hair pulled back and her shoulders squared. Evie got an impression of violence from her and unconsciously flinched away from her, a sign of guilt to the others.

"I didn't know if I should trust you before, but I realize now that you deserve to know the truth. But I must hurry," she knew she was pleading, she could hear it in her voice and she hated herself for it. She had pleaded with Kempton, at first, but it had gotten her nowhere. She had thought she had broken herself of the hideous habit that yet again Kempton had forced upon her.

"Well, we're obviously heading in the same direction, so we will travel with you," a different man reasoned. She looked to him. He was tall, taller then the man with bright blue eyes. His hair was grayer then black and his face had a charming smile on it. She hated him instantly. Kempton had been charming to, on the outside. But that had simply hidden a vile monster, a mask, as she had a mask. She shivered at the continued thoughts of Kempton and ordered herself away from them.

"No, I must move now. If I don't it could mean disaster. She is the only child left in the direct line. If she is not returned immediately, her cousin will inherit the fief and he is the one who sent the bandits to kill the family. If I can only get her back in time, she will be placed under protection of the king and the estates will be properly taken care of!" she was breathing hard, and she could practically taste the defeat in the air. Why weren't they complying with her wishes? Didn't they know what they were destroying by detaining her?

"I can take her to this estate much faster then you will be able too," yet another voice offered. She looked to the young woman with brown hair and dark eyes and remembered her. She was the one that had ordered her off the horse.

"No, I must take her back. She was trusted to me and only me and I will see her home," Her voice was final. She would leave today with or without their permission.

"You come with us and we will bring her home, or we will leave you behind. The child will not leave our care," Alanna shut her mouth and it was like the trap closing around her. Evie wanted to howl with her defeat.

Instead, she hung her head and went back to the bedroll before the fire pit. She lay down on her stomach, her head buried in her arms. She let herself go limp. She had to leave them or her people would die.

And she couldn't allow that.

All her life she had felt like an outsider. Even within her family, she had been different. She was the aftereffect of a badly chosen affair. Her mother had died while birthing her and had never told any one who her real father was. And her adoptive father had kept her around simply because he had needed someone to take care of the children from his second wife. She had become his children's nanny.

But now she knew there were more like her. People who could also see emotions like colors, people who looked at other's memories, could see them by touch. She wasn't alone, she was one of a unit and they needed her.

If she didn't get to the king soon, she would again be the only one.

She licked her dry lips and tasted salty tears. She hadn't even realized that she was crying, but she knew now and she stopped them. Tears were for weaklings and she wouldn't allow herself to be weak, couldn't. Her people depended on her and she would do all that she could.

For the rest of the day she was quiet. Marnie left her alone because they had never become close in the cages and they really had anything to say to each other. The cages, she thought with dry humor. How she had hated that name. Kempton had called their rooms that, and essentially, that what they were. The rooms had been little more then a cage used to keep the slaves in one place. But Evie had escaped with Marnie intact.

Marnie knew that Evie was deep in thought, planning how to get them out. She could fairly see the worry and determination shimmering around her as she sat huddled before the fire. Her knees were drawn to her chest, keeping her eyes carefully blank as she stared into the fire.

As if she felt Marnie's eyes on her back, Evie turned and looked at her for the first time in hours. Marnie rose on eyebrow in question and Evie gave a slight nod then went back to her contemplation of the fire.

She had a plan and she would put it to action as soon as she was sure everyone was asleep. She had no doubt that Marnie knew exactly what she was planning. It was obvious to her as it couldn't be to anyone else.

She played the part of an obedient servant to the masters and did as she was told, not making a sound of protest. She laid down in the spare bedroll when they told her to and feigned sleep when she noticed the others were drifting off.

Marnie was being taken into a tent and she felt a moments panic. She opened one eye and saw Marnie looking at her. Marnie moved her left hand slightly upward until her elbow was bent. The sign, as they had worked out months before in preparation of escape, meant not to worry.

Evie closed her eye again, waiting patiently for the right time. She marveled at how smart Marnie was for only four years old. But she was more then just a simple child, she knew. Marnie was so complex, so full of puzzles that it was a wonder she wasn't talking to the gods, for surely, a child so gifted should be a god's child.

She waited and waited and finally she knew that everyone was asleep. Their physical emotions had drifted and lulled and entered the state of dreams. It was time. Silent as a shadow, she slithered out of her bedroll. When she was clear, she gained her feet slowly, moving as if in water. She looked around, moving just here eyes, and saw Marnie immerging from the tent. She gave a wolfish grin. That child was an amazing little demon.

Evie held out her hand and Marnie came to it. She linked them together as her people had taught her too and their inner cores touched, each giving the other reassurance even though Evie hated the coolness of Marnie's core against her own.

Still silent as death, they crept to the horses. Evie reached out with one hand and settled it calmly on the horses back. It gave a jerk, but didn't make a sound. She untied it from the branch he had been tethered too and keeping a hand to its flesh at all times led it away from the camp and into the darkness.

Slowly, carefully, she lifted Marnie onto his back and settled her. She climbed on next, getting comfortable on the bare back, which was impossible. She wove her hands into the horse's mane.

A cry rang out from the camp and she knew that she had been discovered. Digging her heels into the horse's rump, she sent him flying through the trees, not caring that it was dangerous off the path.

She heard other horses and knew that they were chasing after her, but she couldn't stop. Her people needed her. She was infinitely grateful in that moment to Kempton, who had kept her rations to one meal a day. Her body had shed weight until she was light as a feather and little more then skin and bones. The horse would find it easy to carry them far.

Suddenly the horse stopped and they were flung forward. Evie cried out and twisted in midair to protect Marnie. She cradled the child to her chest even as her back smashed into a tree. Her head snapped back with a thud and she saw stars.

Her world was growing black and the last thing she heard was Marnie screaming her name.

Ciem and Burdock rushed towards the sounds of screams. It was the child. They rushed upon her to find that she was perfectly fine. She was lying in the boy's arms, shaking his shoulders and screaming his name, sobbing with fright.

She turned on them, her face hollow with fear. If Evie was dead, she had no chance, none of them had a chance, for even though Evie lacked in her skills, she was destined to help, and without her, nothing would get accomplished.

"You killed her!" she shouted. "You killed Evie! And she was our only chance! No we'll all die! All of us!"

With that, she buried her head in the boy's shoulder and wept.


	4. Chapter Three

Here is chapter three. Thank you for all the reviews.

Chapter three:

Evie woke with a gasp, her breath sobbing through her lungs as the sheets fell to her waist. Her chest had been bandaged because her back had been scratched and a few of her ribs were broken.

But that's not what woke her. She heard a voice calling to her, drawing her away from sleep and into reality. She gasped as the voice came again and pain shot through her, emotional and physical pain. But it wasn't hers. It was the speakers. She screamed momentarily blocking out the voice.

The other's heard and came rushing into her tent. She was in the throws of an attack, her head throne back as her body arched with the pain. From her clinched eyes salty tears leaked, forcing themselves past the barriers.

_Evie,_ the voice called to her and again she felt that awful, tearing pain, as the emotion swept through her, burning up her insides. And again she screamed. _Evie you are our only hope. Even as we speak Kempton kills us. I have but a few minutes before I too shall pass on._

Evie was sobbing as the pain left and she fell to the ground. She tried to curl into a ball, but the pain came again with the voice. She was dieing from the pain and she wanted to curse Dolph, the man who caused her this pain. _You must find the map, Evie. It will bring you to the valley of our ancestors. In this valley is the way to our uprising. You must save us, Evie. You must take Marnie to this valley. She is the key._

_You can find the map in the palace in Corus. But first, you must allow these people to tend to you. One among them is a traitor and one is the key to getting Marnie to the valley._

The pain ceased for a moment and she fell again to the ground, trembling and gasping as the onlookers watched helplessly. She felt the pain returning and braced for it.

_Good-bye, my lovely Evie. Even though I won't be able to finish teaching you about your Gift, never really told you how I felt, I know that you knew. I love you. Good-bye..._

Evie once again felt pain. This was the man who had been her cage mate. They had huddled together for warmth in the winter and had treated each other's wounds. He had taught her everything she knew about using her Gift, had been the one to awaken her gift inside her, shown her the ways and the history. He had been her first real friend, the first to love her and the first she had loved in return. And she _had_ loved him, loved him more then life itself. And he had been taken from her, and in the last moments of his death, she had wanted to curse him.

This time she curled into a ball, making herself as small as possible. She had finally found a place to belong, people that could love her for herself and they were dead. She wept, like she had never wept before, allowing all the pent up emotions course free with her tears.

She had cursed her love, had wanted to hurt him as he had hurt her, and he was gone. She hadn't even been allowed to tell him that she loved him back. Had he looked inside her as she had looked inside him countless times? Had he known that she loved him? Had he understood the depths of her feelings? Had he understood what he meant to her?

She would never know now, never. Because Kempton, the damnable bastard, had slaughtered him as he had slaughtered all her people.

Ciem looked on, helpless. He could hear her pitiful sobs, like a child's and it broke his heart. She was such a small, young girl to feel such pain. He sat down beside her on the ground, intending to comfort her, but at the feel of his touch, she jerked away.

He floundered, not knowing what to do. He looked up when Marnie stopped before him, looking down at the weeping girl. He saw the expression on her face, but couldn't understand it.

Marnie reached out, wanting to comfort her, hoping that Evie would accept the release of the emotions, even though they hated each other, as Ciem saw it. For an empath to experience such pain by oneself it was wrong and it was frightening. But when Marnie touched her flesh, Evie jerked away from her too.

Evie didn't want Marnie's pity, didn't want her to take away what she was feeling. She was strong, she could handle it, and she would all by herself, as she had been for so many years.

Ciem admired her in that moment, seeing her strength and knowing that she would survive it. She was strong, and she didn't need anyone. No one at all.

Evie soon ran out of tears and she went limp, needing sleep after feeling such pain. Ciem heard her whispered words and wondered at them as she drifted into temporary oblivion. "I'll get her there, Dolph, one way or another."

A/N What did you think? Tell me in a review. I so much enjoy receiving them.


	5. Chapter Four

A/N thanks for my reviews. Here's the next chapter. And I can't remember if I added a discalimer, so I don't own anything that has been published in Tamora Pierce's books. And that goes for the rest of the story.

Chapter four:

Evie looked out the window on the far side of her lavish room in the palace. She saw nothing, as she never saw anything. She simply used the window as an excuse to hide away from the world that she had been dragged into. She hated this room, hated this palace. It reminded her of all she had lost, all she would never gain.

It had been four months since she had lost everyone. She had gained many companions, an uncountable amount of acquaintances, but no one who made her belong. No one who understood her. There was Marnie, but Evie hated her and Marnie hated Evie so it was a mutual agreement between the two that they never speak unless it was unavoidable.

She needed her people, and soon she would set out to bring them back. But she needed the map, and that was the problem. She had no idea where to go to find it, where to look. The palace was so huge and she was lost as to where to even start.

"Miss," she heard a soft voice call from the door. She turned to her maid, Calla, and smiled a dead, empty smile. "His majesty is to see you now. In the royal throne room."

Calla curtsied and left the room. Evie let her shoulders slump. She knew why he was calling her. After arriving to the palace, they had all soon realized that she was not a valet and that Marnie was not an heiress. She had to come up with another story, but all she could find was the truth.

She had told them quite plainly that her name was Evelyn of Kenneth. She had been taken from her family two years before and had been released from her captors. She had said nothing of what had happened during the two years she was gone and she knew it was damning. When they had asked of Marnie she had quite politely told them they were to ask Marnie for her life story.

Her father would want her even less now, and seeing that she had been gone two years, likely with a lover, he would leave her be, disown her even.

And all she had to do was remain silent. Her brother Mathew would poison her father's mind with lies and dirty observations. In a months time she expected to be out on her ear without a coin to her name. It was what she wanted more then anything now. She couldn't stand to be here simply because the king wished her to stay. It made her feel weak and as if she couldn't take care of herself.

She knew that if things didn't go as planned, she knew she would die if she were forced to go back and live in that fief that had been her prison as much as Kempton's cages had been. So many things had happened since that night, the night she had run away.

It was so clear to her, like it had happened yesterday, but the girl in the memory wasn't the same girl who was remembering it.

She had had a bad day, what with her stepmother's children doing all they could to insult her and make her feel low as a servant and being pestered constantly by stupid visions that held no meaning. When she had gone down to dinner, her father had also been in a bad mood and she had struck up an argument wanting to make him angry, knowing it would make her feel a slight better.

She couldn't remember what she had said to make him do it, but he had hit her across the face, knocking her back and down to the floor, his rage singeing her insides as it swept through her. And no one had cared. They had gone back to eating as if nothing had happened, as if she were a servant.

She had picked herself up and left, not once looking back. She had been glad to leave and had taken only the clothes on her back, not even bothering with a horse. Simply walked away.

Later that night, Kempton had picked her up and she had become his slave. His way of life had changed hers forever. She had met other empaths in the cages and it had become clear to her what Kempton was doing.

Kempton had a deep hatred for empaths. He had collected as many as he could by any means. And four months ago he had slaughtered them all. She had simply been saved because he hadn't realized that she was an empath. It still puzzled her that he hadn't known. Maybe it was because the Empath blood was only half the blood running within her.

She shrugged, dismissing it easily. There was a reason for it, and she would find out if it were wished for her to know. She straightened and smoothed her dress and stopped to look in her mirror to make sure her hair was perfect.

She gave a bitter laugh. She was acting like she going to be received by a loving family, not how one who was about to be disowned should act.

She walked calmly down the corridor, her slippers barely making a sound. Her carriage made her look as if she was a princess, when in reality she was her mother's bastard.

The doors were opened for her and she was admitted into the king's royal throne room. She looked inside as she walked to see her father, her stepmother, and her seven brothers and her one sister. Each turned to glare at her, giving her an idea of exactly what they thought of her.

"Your majesties," she whispered as she gave a beautiful curtsey. Jon and Thayet nodded to her before Jon spoke.

"You realize why you're here?" Jon asked and Evie nodded regally. "Good. So, what have you to say, my lord?"

And that's when it started. Her father's mouth spewed nothing but filth and lies, vile tales that she was surprised anyone could believe. She would have protested, but she knew that protests were as damning as her silence. So she kept her head bowed and let it flow around her, ignoring it, for it meant nothing to her. _They_ meant nothing to her.

"Evelyn?" Jon asked and she raised her head and met his eyes. In them she saw doubt and knew that even the four months he had had Evie in residence couldn't save him from her father's words. "Do you have anything to say to this?"

Evie took a deep breath and squared her shoulder. "No, your majesties."

There was a collective gasp and she knew that all eyes were on her. But she remained silent, her head bowed to hide the triumph on her face and in her eyes.

"I demand you explain," the king said and she gasped, her eyes becoming a strikingly deep purple. "I will not allow you to leave here until you explain yourself and your silence."

She hadn't been expecting this, so she said what she was thinking, what she knew. "My father will hear what he wants. And no matter what I say, he will continue to see the worst in me. I will always be my mother's child. I ask that you allow him to disown me. From the day he struck me across the face and left me there as if I was a servant, he has meant nothing to me. None of them did. When I look at them, I don't even feel anger for their shunning me for being born. I feel nothing. To be forced to leave with them would surely be my death. That is why I hold my silence, for I don't want to go back with them. I never want to see them again. I wish for them to be nothing but figures in memories that I chose to forget."

"Excuse me?" she heard her father gasp. "I never hit you, you lying bitch!"

She turned the full force of her stare on him and he quieted, unnerved by her unusual colored eyes. "The fact isn't that you hit me, my lord. All that matters is that you cared so little I had no choice but to leave, or die. So I left. And I won't come back. Ever."

"But Evelyn, you are only sixteen. You can't live on your own!" the queen protested and Evie looked to her, seeing her beauty and the worry that clouded the air around her.

"It doesn't matter. My body may be only sixteen, but my soul has been through more then any one-person can experience in a lifetime. I have no need of a family or of a chaperon. If you would simply free me of these monsters and I will be eternally grateful."

"You bitch," she heard someone say and she turned to see her oldest brother, Mathew striding towards her. "You disgrace our family. We should disown you!"

"You are quite repetitive and it is you who shames me. By all means disown me," she dared, her eyes narrowing even as her voice remained calm.

She never saw it coming, never suspected he would lash out as he did. He slapped her across her face with his hand. The blow knocked her to her side on the ground, the rage stampeded down her body, shocking her with its force. She licked her lips and tasted blood. She sat up and touched her hand to her face, feeling it swell even as she knew it reddened.

"You hit me," she whispered, wonder apparent. She looked up at Mathew towering over her and even then, she felt nothing. She couldn't even feel pity that he was so insecure that he would hit her for doing as he wanted her to do.

"All right, Evie. I will allow you to be disowned by your family. You will be given free room and board here for as long as you wish."

She nodded absently as she gained her feet, her hand still on her reddened cheek. He had struck her. The shock was immense and it was apparent on her face as she walked away.

She heard the king yelling and she thought it strange, but she didn't stop to hear what was being said. She also thought it quite puzzling that she was taking this so badly. Kempton had hit her thousands of times, did it daily, yet this one was paltry compared to the others and she could barely hold her wits together.

When she stopped in front of Ciem and just blinked at him, she knew that her wits were properly scattered.

"Evie?" Ciem asked her as she just stared. And she continued to stare, holding her cheek. He reached up and removed her hand to see what she was hiding. He sucked in his breath. Her pale skin was turning deep red, the imprint of a hand clearly seen.

"What happened?" he gasped in shock, reaching out to touch her cheek. At the contact of his skin, she broke, just...broke.

Turning on her heel, she spun to face another direction and ran like a mad woman. She could hear Ciem shouting to her, but she didn't stop. She ran heedless of where she was going, knowing simply that she had to. She wasn't aware that she was crying until she tasted the salty tears.

She was wild, like an animal fleeing its death, skidding and sliding, hitting things, knocking into people until she was alone. And she felt none of it. She was unaware of the fact that she was even running, simply giving into her inner instincts.

She skidded into a corridor and ran to its end, hitting the wall for she had run out of room. Her hands scrambled across the uncut stone, cutting up her hands as she searched for the god's knew what.

Whatever it was she found it because a panel in the wall beside her opened and she lurched through with a sob and into the surrounding darkness. She breathed in deep and smelled something she had thought she was free of.

Death.

A/N Okay, tell me what you think. And, if you good give me some ideas, that would help. I've run into a block further ahead in the story. Thanks,

Nubia


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter five:

Death. It filled Evie's nostrils as she sucked in breath. Memories collided as they raced through her brain, each one more painful then the one before. She opened her mouth and screamed as she fell to her knees.

Ciem, on the other side of the wall heard her and began to search frantically for the button she had to have pushed to open up the wall. His panic increased when she screamed again, this one higher pitched and filled with pain.

Evie fell back to the door and tried to find the lever to open it, searching as frantically as Ciem on the other side. She was whimpering as she searched, blind in the darkness.

She heard a sound and whirled about. An aqua light was building and like a moth she drifted towards it. But as she drew closer, it moved away from her. She sped up wanting to catch it. She hated the darkness, a fear that she had refused to acknowledge and would continue to ignore after this night.

Her breath was sobbing as she ran. She heard a tear and knew that it was her dress ripping, but she didn't stop to see what had ripped it. Instead she grabbed her dress and clutched it to herself.

It never once occurred to her that what she was doing could be extremely dangerous. She was caught in the moment and she wouldn't let herself think. If she did, she was afraid this would be real, that she was indeed living in a nightmare.

The path she ran along began to slope downward and she reached out her hands to steady herself. She felt a smooth, lumpy surface beneath her palm and looked towards it in the aqua colored light.

What she saw made her scream and she looked about herself again, seeing what she had denied herself before. The path that she walked was lined with grinning corpses in all stages of decay. It was like a burial ground. She screamed again and began to run faster then before, so fast she thought her legs would simply lift of the ground and she would fly.

She was gaining on the light and she put on a final burst of speed as she careened down the stone floor. She gave a cry of triumph as the aqua light bathed her face, she closed her eyes in bliss and that's when it happened.

Her foot caught on a corpse that had fallen to the ground. She went flying through the air just as the tunnel took a sharp left. She twisted in the air and hit the wall with her shoulder and hip. She fell to the stones, but they were slick with slime and she began to slide as the slope became almost vertical.

She screamed as she plummeted down headfirst. She covered her head with her arms as she screamed even louder, her voice thick with terror and pain.

She slammed into a wall and blacked out

Ciem began to panic as Evie's voice faded from his hearing. But try as he might, he couldn't find the key to opening the door. He slammed his fist against the wall and pushed away. He slammed into the wall that was to the one Evie had disappeared into.

His elbow hit with a bang and he cursed as he rubbed at it. But his curse became a thank you because the wall opened up again. With out thinking, he grabbed the torch from the wall and stepped inside.

He saw the bodies, but passed by. He felt panic at the thought of Evie being hurt, felt terror that she would be dead, left here never to be found. She would become one of the grinning skeletons.

He didn't doubt that his feelings were genuine, but where they came from puzzled him. Since they had gotten back to the palace after finding her in the woods, he hadn't spoken to her once. He hadn't really liked Evie.

Marnie was the one he had taken to right away. She was such a beautiful little girl, so smart, so caring, so... much more then an average child. He had seen her constantly, stopping by everyday to talk to her. She hadn't once spoken of Evie.

He hadn't thought it strange at the time. But know he did. Why would Marnie be with Evie if she didn't know her? Where had they come together? It was all a puzzle and as he walked cautiously down the stone path, he determined he would find out.

All thoughts stopped when he heard her scream again.

Evie groaned as she sat up. Her hand came to her head and she felt around, searching for the cause of the pain. When her fingers collided with the bump. She knew what it was from.

Blood was sticky on her fingers when she pulled her hand away. That explained why she could only see through one eye. She looked around and saw a skeleton grinning at her and she screamed, one long loud sound until a hand clamped over her mouth and silenced her.

She struggled against the hand until it let her go and she spun around to face the man who was standing under the aqua light. One word drifted from her throat. "Papa."

He was a tall man, almost six feet four. His hair was the same shade as hers, the deep, dark red, with just a hint of a wave to it. His eyes were the same as hers, same shape, same size, same color with the same depth. She had his chin with the defiant tilt and his nose. And his Gift.

"My daughter," he whispered as he reached out and touched her cheek. Warmth flowed through her and in that moment she forgave him for everything. He was her father and she loved him unconditionally.

He drew her into his embrace as he stroked at her hair and pressed her face to his chest. This was a piece of him, he marveled. She was so short, the top of her head barely reaching his shoulder. He wanted to take her away from here and learn everything about her. More then anything he was sorry that this whole business had taken him away from this miracle that he had helped make.

He felt a presence coming closer and knew that he didn't have much time. He pulled her away and looked into his eyes in her face.

"My daughter much has to be accomplished before we can be a family. Our people must be revived. I will give you the map and you will ask the king to give you an escort to take Marnie back to her home. He will be doubtful, but Marnie will help you. Now, stand still and don't move, even though this will hurt."

Evie nodded her head, willing to do anything for this man. She looked at him, her eyes full of love. His hand touched her stomach and she screamed in agony.

She felt as if the skin on her stomach was being burned away. She was crying and whimpering and screaming and cursing. But she didn't move.

When her father was finished, she jerked back and fell to her knees, clutching at her stomach. It hurt so much she thought she was dieing.

"My daughter, when you get to the valley, say my name three times. It is DeGraw. You will forget certain things that have happened here until the time comes to remember. Goodbye daughter. I love you," he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

She looked up to see him, but he was gone and she was alone in the darkness, surrounded by it. She clutched at her stomach and whimpered. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the throbbing in her lower abdomen, but it didn't help.

"Evie?" she heard a frantic voice calling and she moaned. She opened her eyes to see a light coming towards her. She closed her eyes again rather then see who was coming. She knew it would be a few minutes before whomever it was found her curled on the cold stone floor.

"Dear Gods," she heard a voice breathe and looked up into Ciem's bright blue eyes. "What happened?" he demanded as he fell to his knees beside her and lifted her into his arms. She was still pathetically light. She needed to eat more, he thought absently as he lifted to his feet and grabbed the torch.

"I slipped," she whimpered as she tried to curl into a ball in his arms. It was impossible and she settled for crossing her arms over her lower abdomen. She stopped talking after that and simply rested gently in his arms. She was tired now, so tired she could sleep for a week. Her eyes drifted shut and she snuggled into his warmth like a child.

Ciem was breathing hard by the time he reached the entrance to the tunnel. It glided open for him without a sound and closed behind him the same way.

Getting her to a healer after that was simple. He stepped into the mess hall and scored the crowds. Neal was eating with Kel and Dom as he usually did. Ciem marched through the crowd, Evie asleep in his arms, and stopped before Neal. He looked up, saw Evie and got right to work.

Kel and Dom cleared a spot on the table and Ciem sat her down. Without his warmth, Evie woke up immediately and curled into herself, whimpering. The dull ache was still there.

"Evie," she heard a voice call, but she ignored it. She wanted to be alone so she could see what her father had done to her stomach. "You have to lay out straight so I can fix you head."

Arms grabbed at her, trying to straighten her on the table, and she fought them, jerking loose and trying to sit up, but the pain was to great and she curled up again.

"You'll just have to work with her like this," Ciem sighed. Neal motioned and he grabbed her shoulders incase she started to struggle again. Neal's green covered hand soothed her head and left side, and as that pain lessened, the pain in her abdomen grew stronger. But she also gained her wits and she knew that he would insist on healing her stomach. But she couldn't let him do that.

She straightened out and sat up. She managed not to groan, but her eyes filled with tears. Neal's hand was sweeping towards her stomach and she slapped it away. "My stomach's fine."

Neal looked at her calmly before saying anything. "No it's not. I can see the pain in your eyes. And I am a healer. I can feel the pain in your stomach. Now hold still."

But again she slapped his hand away. "My stomach is fine. I'm fine. Why won't you listen to me?" She shouted as she jumped from the table. Her legs gave out and she clutched the table to hold herself upright, doubling over.

"No, you're not! Now get on the table before you hurt yourself. Whatever the trouble is with your stomach, you don't have to be embarrassed," he gave her a gentle look, but she couldn't let him know what was on her stomach.

"It's my monthly flow and I have cramps. A little bit of tea will help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving," with that she straightened, and though it cost her a great deal, walked away with her shoulder's straight and her chin up.

When the doors to the mess hall closed behind her, she dragged her aching body into an alcove and whimpered. She lifted up her skirt until her stomach was bared. Burned across her flesh in faintly glowing aqua light was a map. And at the end of it's trail was the valley.


	7. Chapter Six

Well, my feathery chikcs, I hope you enjoy. My birthday was yesterday, and so I decided to give you all a present. Enjoy!

Chapter six:

For the first time in four months Evie walked into the nursery where Marnie was kept. Other children surrounded her and she knew that Marnie was the favorite. She felt pity for the boys and girls of all ages under ten whose parents had left them in this place.

Evie walked calmly over to the window and kept her back to the room, as was her habit. Again she saw nothing as she gazed into space, seeing her thoughts. She had asked for an audience with the king and she needed Marie there, as she remembered her father saying. It was one of the few things she remembered of that day, a week ago.

She heard the chattering stop and turned a fraction to see the crowd of kids separate to allow Marnie to walk to her. Marnie was smiling that smile that she reserved just for her, that smile that barely disguised hate. But Evie kept her features blank.

Marnie hunched her right shoulder up and tipped her head to the left in their sign to ask if something was wrong. Evie shook her head. Marnie frowned then, as Evie walked to a chair and Marnie crawled into her lap.

"May I see it?" was Marnie's first question. Evie was surprised though she knew she shouldn't be. But by now she was used to Marnie being intoned to things that she shouldn't know. Evie cleared her throat as repulsion knotted her stomach. Marnie had automatically made a link and the feeling was chilling.

"No, not right now. You know what comes next, don't you?" Evie asked looking away from Marnie's eyes. They were the same color as the lines of the map on her stomach.

"Yes, I know. Was there something you wished to tell me or are you stalling until it is time for us to greet the king?" Marnie asked with humor. Evie looked down into her face and sighed.

"Let's go Marnie. And try to act your age," she lifted Marnie onto her hip as she walked from the nursery, needing the image more then needing to be free from the vile sensation of being linked. It had never been this way with Dolph, she thought and wondered why Marnie was so different.

"But that would make you feel like a fool. At least I use a child's voice when I could use a grown woman's," Marnie explained logically and Evie blocked it out. She was not having this kind of conversation with a small child.

"Fine, ignore me, but that won't change the fact's Evie," Marnie hissed, but remained silent after that. She didn't want to upset Evie. After all, she was Marnie's ticket home.

Evie was admitted into the royal throne room and she walked in to find that a very large group was gathered, filled with people she had never meet before, and people she had meet. She saw Ciem with his parents, watching Evie with unguarded eyes filled with suspicion and surprise.

Evie let Marnie to the floor and gave a graceful curtsy, Marnie following her lead to the amusement of the watchers. She heard laughter and felt the majority of emotions centered on humor.

"Your majesties," Evie whispered, keeping her head down to hide her expression. The fate of her people hinged on this moment. She had to get it right or she would fail her father, something she had never imagined would be a possibility.

"Miss Evelyn, is there something you wish of us?" Jon asked and she looked quickly into his eyes before resuming her stare of the floor as she nodded quickly. "Well, ask please."

Evie took in a deep breath and chocked. She didn't know what to say, what was there to say? How did one ask something like this? How did one lie to the king? Well, she reasoned with herself, not lying really, but it wasn't the exact truth either.

Suddenly a small hand grabbed hers and she was flooded with the vile sensation, but with it came something more, something almost pleasant. Her chin came up a fraction and her back became even straighter. When she spoke her voice was clear and held purpose.

"It is time for Marnie to return home. I must take her because I promised her brother before he died that I would see her into safety's arms. I ask that you allow me an escort of four people and that you allow me the final say in who comes. I would ask, also that you provide for our food and clothes and our mounts as we have nothing other then what you see here."

The room fell to silence and she knew that it was shock. She guessed that it was shock because no one else had ever thought that a mere girl who had been disowned not a week before would ask for something so great.

As the silence remained, Evie disengaged her hand from Marnie's. She knew if the link remained they would soon be sharing emotions and thoughts and memories. To her it was the ultimate intimacy and she refused to allow anyone entrance into her mind or her heart, especially this girl she hated.

Ciem saw the action and knew that he would try his hardest to deny Evie her request. As the future king of Serinda, he was pretty sure his opinion would matter. And if the king allowed her to go, Ciem would be one of the four that was in the escort party.

"Well Evie, you ask for a great deal," Jon said after some moments spent in utter silence. Evie bowed her head to hide her triumph. His indecision was rolling off him in waves, but she knew that he would let her go. It was destined to be so.

"My appointed council and I will speak of it and you will come before us again tomorrow to receive you answer. You are dismissed."

Evie nodded and curtsied, as did Marnie. She turned on her heel and walked steadily from the room, Marnie close at her heels. When the doors to the chamber closed behind them, Evie looked down at Marnie.

"You may see it now. We will go to my room and you may look as much as you want," Evie offered as she walked calmly back to her room.

Back in the king's council room, Ciem was seething. Everyone seemed to be in favor of allowing Evie to take Marnie back to her home. But no one knew Marnie like he did, so it was time that he had his say.

"I don't think she should be allowed to take her back. In the four months that they have been here Marnie and Evie have been together once, and that one time was today. And when I talk to Marnie she doesn't mention Evie. Has never mentioned her, not once. They are not family, they're not even friends. What they are are strangers. And since we know virtually nothing about Evie, how can we trust her?"

Silences meet his words and he looked up to see others watching him. He knew that it had been a mistake to speak aloud. But it was to late now and he wouldn't regret taking a say in Marnie's future.

"Well, I'm still going to allow Evie to take Marnie to her home. To compromise, I will allow you to go along and you may be in charge of the child. I will also allow Velanie, Almay, and Riley to be the rest of the escort. This will be explained to her tomorrow. Until tomorrow then, my loyal subjects," Jon gave a humorous bow and left the room.

Ciem got up from his seat, intent of going to find Marnie and asking her what she thought about the events of the day. But when he got to the nursery, he was informed that Marnie was still with Evie.

He rushed down the halls, furious that Marnie was with that girl, the girl that didn't even have the decency to talk to her. He was furious that Marnie had to suffer the presence of the snotty girl.

He burst into the room to find both of them asleep on the bed. Evie was curled around Marnie, who was snuggled against Evie's breast as if she was there everyday. As he closed the door behind him and walked slowly to the bed, Marnie opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

They looked like a family, he thought as Marnie settled back in. Like they belonged together. But even as he watched, Evie was stirring in her sleep, throwing her head form side to side and moaning.

She gave a pitiful whimper and shuddered. Then she was clawing at Marnie, kicking her away as she threw herself from the bed and to the floor. She was shivering and shuddering and whimpering like a dog as she pulled herself to the wall and pressed against it. Marnie was crying and huddling on the bed.

He went to Marnie and pulled her into his arms and she quieted, slipping her arms around his neck and laying her head against his shoulder. He looked down at Evie who was still shuddering, her chest heaving as she sobbed. But her eyes were dry and without any emotion.

"I don't want you to ever touch Marnie again," Ciem hissed and when she looked into his eyes, hers so purple it hurt, he knew that something was different with her then when he had seen her earlier. But she was nodding, and he forgot about that. "You don't even like her do you? Why do you want to take her back? I could do it and you would be free to do as you wished!"

But she was shaking her head. "I'm the only one who knows the way. I'm the one with the only map. It has to be me," she shuddered one last time before getting to her feet and slowly walking to the window.

She was shaken by the dream. It had been the first dream about Kempton she had had in four months. The first since she had been here and it unnerved her. The first day that she had spoken to Marnie and the first dream. Coincidence or not?

Evie stared out the window into the night. This time she looked and she saw. The stars were so beautiful, she thought. Before becoming a slave, she had often sat out on the roof of her father's house in the fief, looking up at the stars. It had been her favorite way to pass the time at night before she was ready for sleep.

Since escaping Kempton's she hadn't had the desire to watch the skies after dark. It had almost been as if she had been trying to go back to the girl she had been before, to try and catch onto the shadow of that girl that still remained. But now she didn't care. She wanted to see them, see something real, that wouldn't change or become something ugly to her, as most things in her life had become.

Truth be told, the only thing in her life that held any meaning to her at all was getting to the valley. She lived in a world filled with black and grays and whites and the only color was the valley that was as yet out of her reach and the things that the valley would bring to her.

Her shoulders slumped and she bowed her head. She was so tired of being here, where she was confined to this room. She wanted to leave here, to go somewhere that held some appeal. This place was turning into a prison and she wanted nothing more then to leave.

"Please take Marnie and go, Ciem. I wish to be alone," Evie said, the first words spoken in almost ten minutes. Ciem left without hesitation, wanting to leave the girl. She was so still, so silent. It was almost as if she wasn't a real person, but a statue that moved on occasion. She was something else, and what she was scared him. In his haste to be alone, he left Marnie at the nursery without asking her what she thought of returning home.

The next day, Evie stood in front of the king once more, Marnie at her side. She kept a strict distance between them. She didn't want any kind of connection with Marnie. Last night she had experienced some of the insomnia that had touched her life during the two years in the cages, and she was vulnerable, her inner core open to anyone's touch.

"Evie, I will allow you to return Marnie to her home. With you will be the four escorts you requested. They will be Prince Ciem, Sir Riley, Lady Velanie, and Lady Knight Almay. You will hand over the map to Prince Ciem, who will see to the proper assignation of provisions. The stable master will outfit you with the appropriate horse and tack. The royal seamstress will provide you with the right attire and you will leave by the end of the month. Ciem will be in charge of the group and Velanie will be in charge of Marnie. Now Evie, if you will hand over the map, the preparations will begin."

All eyes were on her and she knew that they were expecting her to comply. But she couldn't very well give him her stomach, which was where the map was still imprinted.

"I can't give up the map. I promised Marnie's brother that I wouldn't show the map to anyone else. It may be an inconvenience, but it was his dieing wish that I take her home and that the exact location remain a secret. If we go on this trip, I will be the navigator, for the map is for my eyes only."

The king gave her a strange look and she bowed her head, knowing that speaking out against him was treason. But there was nothing else she could do. The line was drawn and she would not cross it to accommodate the king.

"Alright," Jon said at last. "You will be navigator, but Ciem will remain in control of the group. You are dismissed."

Evie walked out, this time knowing that Marnie was not following her and not caring. Soon she would be leaving this place and then, getting to the valley would be a matter of months. For the first time in too long a time she felt a taste joy and she was happy for it.

As she walked to her room, a spring entered her step. She was leaving and soon things would fall into place. Very soon.

A/N Well? How was it? Did you enjpy your present? LOL. Tell me all about it in a review.

Nubia


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter seven:

Evie sat atop the horse, still as a statue, silent as death. Today was the first day of the journey and the first time she had meet her escorts.

Her first impressions of them were not the best. Velanie was a lady through and through, with her aristocratic face, her perfect blond hair her blue eyes, and her fashionable dress. She was head over heels in love with Ciem and was hoping to become the queen of Serinda. She hated horses and children and was dreading the whole journey. Marnie unnerved her and she was planning on dumping her duties onto Almay. Velanie also hated Evie, because she knew that Ciem had an interest in her and hated that she wasn't the center of attention, even if that interest was simply to find out what her real motives were.

Almay was a knight and wasn't really interested in the journey. She was simply going along because she couldn't say no to the king. She was tall for a woman, almost as tall as Ciem, with short nut-brown hair and green-brown eyes. She was interested in combat and her knightly duties and had no intention of taking over the duties of the child for Velanie.

Riley was an older man, at least forty-five. His blond hair was going white, as was his close shaven beard. His gray eyes were sly and cunning, but he was very trustworthy. He had a wife and three kids along with six grandchildren. He had a hand with healing and was along simply to cure any injuries and illnesses. He among them was one that she could come to like. But she wasn't interested in human interaction.

Ciem was the only one along the trip who was overly interested in Marnie's well being and that was to her great relief. Evie couldn't bring herself to touch her anymore, even if for just a second to get her attention. Marnie opened a connection right away and reached out to her inner core, trying to link with her, but that was something that Evie could not do, would not do.

Her horse felt her stiffen at the thought and gave a snort as it tossed her head. Evie was at the back of the group, observing them silently as they traveled down the path that the map had indicated. She would have laughed if she hadn't been in a black mood. Velanie was atop her horse, skirts, petticoats, and all primped around her, the bodice of her dress so low she was nearly falling out, trying to catch Ciem's eyes. But Ciem was thoroughly involved with something that Marnie was saying and wasn't paying any attention.

Almay had been trying to have a conversation about battle with Riley who lived his life healing, not harming. An argument had broken out between them and now they sat in silence, as did she.

Up ahead there was a fork in the road and the horses were stopping. Evie tried, but couldn't remember which path to take. She would have to check and that meant asking for a break to relieve herself, even though they had stopped a half an hour before.

She rode to the front, stared at the two different paths trying to remember, before she sighed. She would have to go into the woods and check. She turned her head to meet Ciem's eyes, the first physical movement she had made in hours, and spoke "I need to relieve myself."

"But we stopped thirty minutes ago. You'll just have to wait," Ciem told her, taking on the commanding tone that he had developed during the five hours they'd been on the trail. Marnie caught her eye as her right hand touched her left hip, the sign to ask if she needed help. Evie nodded, the movement almost imperceptible.

"I have to go too, Ciem," Marnie said as she looked up at him. Ciem seemed to not want to let her to go, but he decided it was better to let her go then to make her wait.

"Fine," he turned in the saddle and said to the rest of the of the group, "We're taking a rest. If you have to relieve yourself, do it now."

Evie slide from the horse's back and touched the ground. Her legs gave out on her and she clutched at the saddle to keep herself upright. Ciem reached out and steadied her, trying to help her, but she shrugged out of his grasp and moved into the bushes.

A few moments later, Marnie came up to her. Without pause Evie lifted her shirt and looked down at her belly. She couldn't see it very well because her chest got in the way and her stomach was still depressed from her lack of appetite.

"Left or right?" Evie asked as Marnie looked down, the faint glow reflecting in the eyes. Wonder was coming from her and Evie blocked it out. She didn't want to receive any of what anyone was feeling. She wanted to be isolated in her own private world of emotion.

"Left. Who gave this to you?" Marnie asked, but Evie was already walking away as she straightened her shirt. She didn't want to tell Marnie, but more, she knew that it wasn't important for Marnie to know.

As they left the woods, she saw Marnie's hand coming out to touch her stomach, knowing that Marnie wanted to feel for the presence that had left it on her. Without thinking Evie knocked her hand away, her mind barrier hitting Marnie's will. The contact of the opposing forces made them both pull back with cries of pain. Evie looked down at her hand to see heat blisters bubbling across her skin.

Marnie was sobbing and she knew that the pain was the same for her, and probably worse because she wasn't as pain tolerant as Evie was. But Evie didn't care. She turned her back on the crying child and walked to her horse. She pulled herself into the saddle and sat waiting.

As an empath, she knew emotions and she could easily interpret hers. She was feeling fright and pain. When she had arrived at Kempton's and met the other empaths she had been eager to learn.

Dolph had been her teacher and the first person that had ever loved her. She had loved him back, desperately, with all the emotion her fourteen-year-old soul could muster. He had been a glorious twenty-five, and even though his body had been broken from Kempton's punishment, his eyes had been the most beautiful green that she had ever seen.

He had been her teacher, and he had been the first she had connected her inner core with. And he had died that night, ripping out her heart and tearing it in two. She had avoided thinking of him, drowning in denial. She hadn't wanted to admit that he was gone, that she had lost him. But now she knew it was time. He was gone, and she would mourn him in private, when no one was awake to hear her quiet sobs.

"What did you do to Marnie?" Ciem demanded as he strode to her, his fury knocking the breath from her lungs. She arched her back away from him as she cradled her hand against her stomach. Her horse shied away from Ciem also.

"Nothing she didn't do to me also," she hissed as she stilled her horse. Before she could say more Ciem reached out and grabbed her hand. His fingers touched her blisters, still raw from the brief contact and she pulled away with a cry, drawing her hand to her shoulder as she glared at him.

"Come, you have to get that healed. Marnie's done by now, so come," he insisted, but again she shook her head no. He knew that he would have to force her. So, taking matters into his own hands, he reached up and grabbed her around the waist. He knew she would struggle, so he slung her over his shoulder as he would a sack of potatoes. She gave a surprised cry, but that was all she did.

Against his shoulder, she went utterly still. He was surprisingly open to her, his inner core revieled, and she reached out before she knew what she was doing. His being was absolute warmth, and it filled her, chasing away her coldness. His core was color and it chased away the shadows.

When she was linked to him, she felt as if everything in the world was where it was supposed to be. And it scared her. With Dolph, the man she had loved beyond reason, it had never been like this. With him, it had been a sweet link, pleasing to her senses, but she hadn't really felt anything from him.

With Ciem, she could practically read his thoughts, knew what he felt, what he liked, what he hated, what his child hood was like, how he felt about everyone that was on the trip, what he thought about the trip himself. And what came across as the clearest was the love he felt for Marnie. A fake love.

Marnie had cleverly wove a spell around Ciem, blinding him to anyone but Marnie, taking over his senses until he slowly became completely devoted to her. It was a spell that Marnie had tried to work on Evie herself, but had failed. Why she was using it on Ciem was beyond Evie, and she wouldn't remove, because it didn't concern her. What concerned her was her reaction to Ciem.

She shivered with fright for this was more powerful then anything she had ever known, more compelling. She wanted to sink into what made him Ciem, into his very essence and drown in it. She felt as if she was betraying Dolph, for this was more then she had ever felt with him, and to her shame, she liked it better then her joining with Dolph.

So she struggled from his shoulder, breaking the tie as she pulled away. She gave him an evil glare and a snarl before walking over to Riley to get her hand healed. She looked up to see Velanie glaring at her.

Hostility was most present in the young beauty and Evie knew that she had seen the exchange. Velanie was probably jealous and was thinking of a way to hurt herself so Ciem would pay attention to her.

By the time everyone was ready to leave, Marnie confessed that she was hungry. Ciem gave a sigh and looked at the sun, it would be dark in two hours and they wouldn't get much farther that day. He called for them to set up camp and they left the trail to find a clearing a few paces into the trees perfect for a campsite.

"Oh, Ciem," Velanie asked sweetly as she primped her hair. "Is there a river near by where we can wash up?"

Ciem looked up from building the fire and gave her a dismissing glance. "Ask Evie. She has the map."

Velanie looked to her with less enthusiasm, and Evie nodded. She knew that the first part of the trail followed a river and she didn't see any harm in bathing in it. She would also, but she would wait until the rest of them were done with washing before she would.

"Almay?" Evie asked in a quiet voice as she stood. "Would you like to go to the river with us?" She nodded and gathered her bag. Evie did the same as she looked to Marnie with a questioning glance. Her meaning came across quite clear and Marnie nodded. Evie grabbed her bag also then headed out across a deer trail that she knew would lead to the river.

When they reached it, Evie preached upon a rock and stared up into the sky, but not really seeing it as she looked into herself as she had countless times at the castle. Velanie, Almay and Marnie began to undress as they chatted about mutual topics such as the weather and the journey and countless useless things that had no meaning to her.

"What's the matter Evie?" Velanie taunted when she noticed that Evie wasn't undressing. "Is your body so covered with scars you hide it so as not to repulse us?"

Evie settled her unique colored gaze on Velanie's perfect white body and snarled. "I'm surprised you even know that word, Velanie. It seems like too a big word for your limited vocabulary to be capable of retaining."

Velanie hissed and prepared an attack, but Evie turned away from her as she drew her knees to her chest and blocked her out.

Why had her connection to Ciem been so strong? Ciem wasn't even an empath. And the other times they had touched this hadn't happened. She didn't want it to happen. She didn't like Ciem and she knew that he didn't like her. She had felt it. She also knew that he thought she had ulterior motives for returning Marnie to her home, although she didn't know what they could possibly be.

What could she gain from returning an innocent child to her home? But Evie did have ulterior motives. When Marnie entered the valley, their people would be revived and she would have Dolph back. She would have the love of her life back and they could start a family. Her father would be able to be with her and she would have a father again. A real father, not a cheap imitation that her mother's husband had been.

She heard a scream and was shocked out of her thoughts when two hands settled into her short hair and dragged her by the roots. She looked up to see Velanie's enraged face as she dragged her into the river, clothes and all.

Evie went still with shock as Velanie pushed her head under the water. She held herself perfectly still. She didn't know how to swim, but she soon saw she was in no danger of drowning, as the water was shallow. Then she moved, her old instincts taking over.

Evie dug her fingernails into Velanie's skin, trying to catch the sensitive area where the nail met the skin. She heard a far off cry and knew it to be Velanie's as the pain registered.

Evie turned in the water and came up with a hard punch to Velanie's gut, but as the punch connected, her foot slipped on a rock and she went down again. Velanie saw the advantage and slammed her foot into Evie's gut, knocking her back to the rocky bottom and her head struck a rock. Hard.

Evie went limp, having learned her lessons well. Velanie fell for the bait, thinking that she had won and Evie allowed her body to float to the surface. Almay grabbed her leg to keep her from drifting away in the current, but before Evie had the chance to drift, she was moving.

With the savage strength of a cornered animal, Evie rose up, her pent up emotions finally finding a release. Evie watched as her hands closed around Velanie's throat and squeezed. She saw Velanie choke, felt her nails claw at her hands, but she didn't let go.

Very calmly she shook her as she spoke. "Don't ever try that again, do you hear me? If you ever touch me again, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

Velanie nodded her head weakly and Evie let her go with a shove, sending Velanie sprawling in the stream as she began to cry and cough at the same time. Evie glanced to Almay and saw reluctant admiration in them.

Using the Gift that she had newly discovered, Evie reached out, wanting to understand what Almay was thinking. And she did. She saw the colors, the emotions, the effects. She saw it all, layer upon layer that made Almay who she was. And she saw the beauty and knew that Almay was a good person.

Almay had seen the strategy and strength in Evie's actions and though she disapproved of partners fighting, she had seen a warrior within Evie and she had been awed.

Humbled beyond words, Evie closed the connection and grabbed her pack. She slung it over her shoulder and walked into the forest a ways from the path. She was cold and shivering, her lips turning blue as she unclothed. It was hard with her garments wet, but she did her best.

Because she didn't have a towel, she climbed into her dry clothes still slightly wet. Because she was in the shade of the trees and a breeze was blowing, she was shivering and covered in gooseflesh by the time she stumbled to the campsite.

She sank to her knees before the fire, basking in the warmth that washed over her. Ciem and Riley had set up the single tent that they would share to conserve warmth and the dinner was ready. The men had left to take baths farther down the river. Evie served herself as she drew her knees to her chest and looped her arms around them. The bowl holding her hot meal warmed her hands and she sighed in contentment as she slurped up the stew. She knew that Ciem had prepared it for his presence was so strong it caught to other objects and she picked it up when she touched them.

Velanie, Almay and Marnie arrived soon after she was finished with her meal and rather then confront Velanie again, she grabbed her bed roll from a pile that Riley had made earlier, walked into the tent and settled down for sleep on the far left side.

As she had expected, sleep was long in coming. She was awake when Ciem and Riley came back from their bath and Velanie drew them into conversation. She was awake when Almay and Velanie claimed fatigue and slipped into the tent. Velanie slept on the right, as far from Evie as possible, and she was awake when Velanie started to talk about her, thinking she was sound asleep. She was awake when Almay told her to shut up.

Evie was also awake when Riley fell asleep beside Almay, meaning that Ciem would be stuck next to her, because she knew that he would put Marnie between him and Riley to keep her safe.

And she was awake long past the time Ciem carried Marnie into the tent and settled down to sleep.

She was awake for some time later as her thoughts drifted around her head, not really taking shape or sticking for long. She finally slept, simply because she was bored with being awake. Her last thought was that it was a hell of a way to start a journey that would take who knew how long to get to the valley. But they were on their way and that was all that mattered to her.

A/N Hope you liked it.I fany of you have an ideas on what should happen in the story tell me in a review please!

Nubia


	9. Chapter Eight

A/N Sorry its been so long. But I've been sooooo busy with school. But today was a half-day so I had time. Yay! So, heres the latest chapter.

Chapter eight:

A few weeks of traveling had passed without much of anything happening. Evie remained as silent and still as she had the first day. She spoke only when necessary and moved only when was needed. She soon unnerved everyone, for she was too still, too silent. But if Evie noticed, she made no indication to change.

At night, she often bathed after everyone else had, wanting her privacy. She staid up late at night by the fireside, fighting the insomnia that tortured her. She often fell asleep next to the dying fire with a blanket wrapped around her in the early hours of the morning and woke up an hour or two after the sun rose.

When she did sleep in the tent, she more often then not got stuck next to Ciem, much to her displeasure. After linking with him that first day, she had kept her distance, not wanting to feel what she had felt again.

Velanie also asked for distance from her. Evie knew it was because Velanie was afraid of her. Ever since the attack at the river the first night, Velanie had gone out of her way to show her dislike of her. Evie didn't mind much and when an incident occurred that allowed Velanie to subtly spew her dislike, Evie shrugged it away.

Almay and Riley remained neutral and out of the undercurrents of hostility between Ciem, Velanie, and Evie. Riley had taken a shine to Almay and they stuck together, becoming fast friends. Evie liked them both for the most part and was courteous to them.

As for Marnie, they never spoke, never touched, and barely ever made eye contact. To all who looked it was almost as if they hated each other, which they did. The truth was that Evie was afraid of making a connection with her, of feeling that cold, mocking presence, so avoided Marnie like she was the plague.

Today was different though. It was the last day in the forest. A swamp loomed ever nearer and she knew that it would take them at least a day, if not more, to get through it.

She rode in the front on this day, something she had avoided doing until know. They would camp at midday if they made it to the entrance to the swamp, she decided, and fill up the water bags because there wouldn't be any fresh water until they left the swamp and meet up with the next river.

At midmorning, it began to rain, the first change of weather. Evie groaned. This would not work in her favor. And it didn't. It soon became apparent that they wouldn't make it to the swamp because the rain was drowning them.

Evie was forced to stop. They scrambled to spread out the tarp to keep the tent bottom dry a few inches from the trail, but barely into the forest. It was a joint effort to get the tent pitched, but by the time they scrambled inside, most were soaked to the bone.

Evie was shivering convulsively as she struggled to lie out her bedroll. She was on the verge of crawling under and sleeping when she remembered the horses. She cursed vilely as she struggled to a supply pack and grabbed a tarp and some rope. With a deep breath of dry, warm air, she plunged back into the freezing rain.

It took a few minutes for her to build up a shelter for the horses, deep in the forest where they could eat and drink. She took off the horses' saddles and rubbed them down, before hobbling them with enough length to reach the ground. She dug a hole that soon filled with muddy rainwater for them to drink.

She started to struggle the saddles back to the camp, but changed her mind and left them under the area covered with tarp. But she wasn't done yet; she had to get them hay. She was nearly weeping with exhaustion and cold as she came back to the tent. Ciem looked at her strangely, but she knew that no one else remembered the horses.

"Hay," she croaked, and she saw the light dawn in his eyes. He sucked in a breath and grabbed the horse feed and tried to help her in the tent. But she just grabbed the bag and ran back to the horses' shelter. The hay that she spread on the ground for the horses was stale, but was all they would manage.

She grabbed the saddle blankets, thinking that they should be dried out before put on the horses the next morning. She made a wild dash back for the camp. She left the woods and found the trail that was more mud then ground.

Her foot caught on a rock and she was thrown forward. She hit the mud with a splat and skidded the remaining width of the trail before coming to a halt on the grass on either side of the muddy road. She laid there for some time, looking up as the rain poured down on her.

Her head hurt, her ankle was twisted and she was covered in mud, she thought as she just lay there in a daze. How could this get any worse? She got her answer when Ciem's face appeared over hers.

"Are you alright?" he shouted over the noise of the rain. Evie closed her eyes, taking a mental inventory, then nodded. She wasn't going to die, she knew, but the embarrassment was acute.

"Let me help you," Ciem called and grabbed her hand, instantly opening a link as he pulled her to her feet. She pulled her hand away, but not before she felt his flooding warmth.

Together, they scrambled to the tent, but Evie couldn't go in because her clothes were too muddy. She ended up having to take off her clothes and wrap herself into a blanket before she could go inside.

She took the opportunity of the closed tent flap and the privacy to check the map as best she could, but she had trouble seeing it. Contorting her body so that her stomach was out farther then her chest, she quickly checked their progress. The swamp was a mile or more ahead, she guessed. She also took the opportunity to wash the mud out of her face and hair.

Then she curled into the blanket and hopped inside, leaving her muddy shoes out in the rain. She quickly toweled her clean and dry with her soiled shirt. Her pack was on the other side of the tent and she had to maneuver around everyone to get to it. When she was there, she wrapped the blanket tight and tucked the ends under her chin as she searched for a shirt.

When she found one, she slipped it over the blanket, knowing that most eyes were following her actions. She knew that Velanie was eager for a glimpse of scarred flesh that scored across her back and legs. Kempton had not been kind with a whip and the evidence of her slavery was still noticeable.

With the shirt and blanket firmly in place, Evie struggled into breeches, panting with exhaustion. The night before had been particularly hard and she was ready to drop by the time she was clothed. She was almost certain she would dream when she slept.

And she did. She curled up in her bedroll and was asleep within moments, her breathing evening out into deep even breaths, soothing in the silence. The others soon followed her example. It was the middle of the night before Evie began to dream.

_Evie wept silently as she heard the pleading and the begging and the screams. But she couldn't look away. Kempton would only be worse on her if she didn't watch. She saw the woman's face as she was being raped and couldn't help but reach out to her and try to take some of the pain._

_But the woman blocked her out for the woman saw the terror in Evie's young face and wanted to spare her. Kempton finished and pulled away leaving the woman alone. He straightened his own clothes before turning to Evie._

"_Did you enjoy watching?" he asked. Evie knew he wanted her to nod her head yes, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. What she had seen was horrible and vile and she felt as if she were dieing inside as she realized that this happened everyday to women in the cages, most likely by Kempton himself._

"_Well, slave?" Kempton asked again. Before she could stop herself, she shook her head vehemently. His hand struck her across her face, knocking her back. She quivered against the wall as her widened eyes looked at him. He came closer and she whimpered, trying to become smaller and curling into her self._

"_Maybe I should do it again, so you can have a second chance. Well, slave? Would you like me to do it again?" Kempton squatted before her looking into her eyes. "Yes I think I shall do it again. And I'll make sure you watch this time, and you'll like it."_

_Before she could react, Kempton was upright and striding to the woman. Evie gave another pathetic whimper, trying to cower away. Quick as a flash, Kempton's whip coiled out and wrapped around her neck, dragging her across the floor until she was sitting next to the poor woman. He began to disrobe again and Evie couldn't stop herself. She screamed._

Evie jerked upright, clawing at her neck as she gulped for air. Her breath was sobbing and she was looking around wildly, trying to see Kempton in the dark. Her hands smoothed over neck as she calmed fractionally. There was no new sore from the malicious whip.

She sighed because she realized it was a dream. As she recalled it, she felt again her anguish when Kempton had made her watch the second time, the woman's screams, Kempton's laughter.

Again, self-loathing filled her. She had done nothing, simply watched, more afraid for herself then the woman. And when Kempton had asked her if she liked it, she had bowed her head and said yes.

Even now, two years later, her self-loathing burned bright, and burned deep. She needed a release from the emotions that were choking her. She stuffed her fist into her mouth to stifle the sound of her sobs.

The tears rained down her cheeks, hot and salty. She curled into a ball, as was her favorite position and closed her eyes, allowing herself this one moment of weakness.

Ciem, in the bedroll next to Evie's was wide-awake, having awoken at the sound of her whimpers. He heard her weeping, but didn't know what to do. What puzzled him the most was the fact that she was crying. He had never seen much emotion on her face and had thought her incapable of it, but here she was crying.

But what could make her cry these gut wrenching sobs? For, even though she was stifling them with her fists, he could still hear the force behind them. This was the cries of someone who was experiencing great emotion, and it puzzled him.

He had trouble sleeping, even after Evie had quieted much later and drifted back into her slumber. But he staid awake, thinking. And thinking hard.

It was raining the next day when Evie woke up, her head aching and her eyes sore from her crying jag the night before. When she swallowed and her throat burned, she knew that the crying had been a mistake.

She hated crying, it always left her like this, weak and achy. She sighed, knowing there was no hope for it. She would just have to live with it. She sat up to see that everyone else was awake. They had pushed their bedrolls aside and were playing a card and dice game.

Evie laid back down, turning onto her side, her back to them. Closing her eyes, she tried to fight boredom and the slight unease that had crept up on her. She hated small enclosed spaces, and being trapped in this one was grating on her nerves. She supposed this unease was something else she could thank Kempton for. It had never been a matter two years ago, but now it was becoming very endearing.

"Evie, would you like to play?" Almay asked, seeing that Evie was awake. Evie was on the point of refusing when she decided to join. It would keep her from thinking about the confining walls.

The only seat available was between Ciem and Velanie, so she scooted into it, drawing her knees to her chest, as she often did. Marnie was sitting in Ciem's lap, asleep with her head against his shoulder. They made quite a picture and before she knew what she was doing, she turned the full force of her smile on Ciem.

His breath caught in his chest. When she smiled she was beautiful. Her teeth were white and straight, a miracle that Evie had always appreciated. Her eyes held a twinkle and her scar curved outward comically. When she smiled, he almost forgot that he didn't trust her or even like her.

Then, as fast as it had appeared, it disappeared, and her face was once again blank. Almay dealt the cards and the game began. It soon became apparent that Evie was good at the game. She won four times in a row before Velanie got fed up and changed the game.

But Evie won at that one too. She won at all the games, and it soon became a challenge to beat her. She seemed to relax a little as they played, but as the hours passed, she became tense. Her eyes were going wide and she was jumping at every little sound, her movements becoming jerky.

At the end of a game, four hours later, Evie jumped to her feet, her head swiveling about as she searched the tent. "Horses," she stammered before bolting from the tent and flying through the rain.

Ciem, thinking something was wrong with the horses, followed just as quickly, telling the other's to stay put. He followed Evie's retreating form into the forest and to where the horses rested, dry and happy.

She walked up to a horse and buried her face in its mane, grabbing the hair and holding tight as she shuddered. He thought it quite curious, thinking that she was crying again. But then he heard a sound.

She was laughing!

The laughter bubbled up, the sound deep and raspy and filled with hysteria. She couldn't seem to make it stop. Evie tried and tried, but she couldn't stop laughing. She grabbed her sides as they began to ache. But she couldn't stop.

"Evie! Stop!" Ciem ordered as he strode forward. She drew herself up and stopped. She looked into Ciem's face and sobered instantly. "Are you all right?"

Before she thought it through, she was answering. "I hate small spaces, that's all. I needed some air after so long confined."

Ciem looked at her for a long time before shrugging and walking away. Evie sat down on a saddle and decided to spend the remainder of the day with the horses.

That night the rain stopped and the next day they prepared to enter the swamp.

A/N Okay, the next chapter is very interesting. Lets just say that Evie's lake of swimming abiliteis comes it to play. And Ciem is not so happy about it. Review.

Nubia


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter nine:

The road through the swamp was little more then islands of mud. It was terribly hard to ride on and it was soon apparent that they would have to walk the horses along the road. Evie knew instinctively that if they strayed from the path or entered the water, they would be lost. She gave strict warnings to each of them that they were to be careful, for the swamp was full of vicious creatures.

She remained at the back as she always did, watching the others to see where they stepped so she would be assured of safe ground. The order was thus; Ciem at the front, Marnie on his horse, followed closely by Riley. Almay came next with Velanie following her lead and last came Evie.

They traveled half the day through the dank swamp, moving with out mishap. They made good time, but Evie feared they would have to find a place to rest for the night, because they wouldn't leave the swamp until late the next day.

She supposed that she should have expected the incident, but when she looked back, she knew that it wasn't a surprise that it had happened.

They had walked without sound. The only breaks in the silence were the bugs chirping. Marnie had fallen asleep on the horses back and must have had a nightmare because she woke up screaming.

The horse spooked and reared throwing Marnie off. Riley had jumped up to catch her, tugging on his horses reins and sending his horse dancing back, bumping into Almay, who bumped into her horse. Almay's horse danced back also, and Velanie in a sense of survival, lunged to the side, dragging on the reins. Her horse swung to the side and knocked hard into Evie.

Under the impact of the hit, Evie was thrown from the road and fell into the murky water with a splash that covered everyone with slime. The only problem was, Evie didn't know how to swim.

She struggled to the surface and gasped for air, before sinking back under. Her foot tangled in weeds and she struggled, trying to pull herself up.

Marnie, seeing the only other remaining empath drowning screamed at Ciem to do something. In his haste to help, he didn't notice that Marnie's voice hadn't been a child's. It had been a woman's, smoky and dark.

Ciem dove into the water, a champion swimmer himself, and nosed through the water, searching for Evie's red hair. He pushed himself to her and grabbed her arm and pulled up.

Evie opened her mouth to scream, but all that came out were air bubbles. Ciem turned quickly and fitted his mouth to hers to keep her from sucking in water. She sucked in his air instead and he pushed to the surface to gulp more air before diving down again.

He swam down her length to her foot and worked on freeing it from its trap. He yanked and pulled and maneuvered until she was loose. But she didn't know how to swim, so he caught her under her arms and dragged them to the surface. Evie sputtered and sucked in air, clinging to Ciem's shoulders as he kept them afloat.

When he began swimming to shore, Evie clung harder, not wanting to be loose in the vile water. He yanked her onto the drying mud and slammed her onto the ground. She coughed and lay still, relishing the feel of solid ground beneath her. She sighed and relaxed onto her back, closing her eyes and trying to drift into sleep.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Ciem screamed as he sat up dragging his hands through his black hair, slime making it greenish. Evie opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him as if he was stupid.

"What are you talking about?" she asked in her clear voice as she rubbed at her neck. It occurred to her that no one really treated him to his station. He was a prince, after all.

"You! What were you thinking, jumping in the water when you can't even swim?" Ciem yelled as he got to his feet. Evie also got to her feet, well tried. But her ankle gave out and she lurched forward and had to grab onto him to stay upright. He pulled away from her as if her touch repulsed him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't jump in," Evie defended as she stood on one foot, the other slightly above ground.

"Don't give me that. You're as bad as Velanie. I thought you were different, that you weren't bent on getting me attention, but I was wrong. This was a stupid stunt you pulled, pretending to drown so that I would come and save you. You could have died and I would be responsible. But what's even worse is that you could have jeopardized the entire trip. You're the one with the map, and if you die then Marnie will never get home. Now apologize!"

Evie just looked at him before turning her back on him and walked slowly to her now calm horse. Her hip hurt from where the horse had knocked into her and she knew that her ankle was twisted, if not broken. But she put her foot to the ground and walked on it without a limp even though it was killing her.

She grabbed her pack and rummaged through it, looking for a clean set of clothes. She was out of clean tunics and was forced wear a dress. She maneuvered her horse so that it stood between her and the rest of the group. With lightening speed, she whipped out of her wet tunic and into her dry dress.

She pushed her breeches over her hips and climbed out of them. She didn't have time to allow the wet clothes to dry, so she stuffed them into the pack. She then took a dirty shirt and ruffled it across her hair, drying it before stuffing the shirt back in her pack.

She knew that the backs of her legs were riddled with scars and she didn't want anyone to see them. So she grabbed her least dirty pair of breeches and slithered into them. When all this was accomplished she tied her pack to her saddle and guided her horse back in line and waited for the rest to be ready to leave.

The silence reached her then and she looked up to see them all watching her. She glared at them, waiting for someone to say something, but they didn't and she knew that they were waiting for her to say something first.

"I would like to leave the swamp as soon as possible. We don't get any closer to being gone from this place if we stand here," she snapped as she shifted her weight of her rapidly swelling ankle.

"I said you needed to apologize. We aren't leaving until I get one," Ciem folded his arms across his chest, looking for the entire world like an arrogant prince, which he was. Anger rose in her and she spoke before thinking.

"I'm sorry you're a jackass who can't see the truth right in front of your face. I'm sorry for Marnie, who seems to like your company. I'm sorry for Velanie who is head over heels in love with a complete fool. I'm sorry for your country that will be a laughing stock when you take over. But I'm most sorry for you, because you think you're so wonderful, when really, inside you have a black, evil little heart and will end up alone and dead in a gutter, by yourself, with no one to see you into passing."

With that, she urged her mare to the front of the group and called for them to walk. Every one remained silent until she turned back to glare at them and they jumped to obey her orders.

When everyone was in motion and moving along the trail, she allowed Ciem the led again and fell to the back. They continued in silence, Evie's words still clear in everyone's mind. They made it out of the swamp late in the evening, much to Evie's surprise and set up camp.

She dismounted painfully, having mounted after discovering she couldn't walk very far on her ankle. Paine shot through her as she set her feet to the ground. But she would be damned if she showed weakness in front of Ciem. She stiffened her spine and walked like she didn't have a care. When her horse was properly taken care of she moved to the deer trail that would lead to the nearby river.

She stopped before entering the trail and looked to Marnie as she deliberately raised her right and smoothed it across her left eyebrow in the signal that they needed to talk. Marnie nodded and was soon close on her heels.

Evie was seated on a rock when Marnie joined her. She reached out to link them, but Evie stepped back. She didn't want the contact, not after what had transpired earlier in the day. Her hate had grown that day and she wanted to get it off her chest before it did her physical damage.

"Why didn't you say something Marnie? I know you know what really happened. I mean, after all, you are the all-seeing Marnie, the Gifted child that will safe our futures. Why didn't you help me? Instead you let him insult me again and again. But I guess it was my fault, believing myself more important then your precious Ciem. After all, I was the one to save your sorry hide back in the cages," Evie hissed, her tone dangerous in its anger.

"What could I do? No one would have believed me if I did speak for you. Besides, I think we're even, seeing how I'm the one who called to Ciem to save you. And what you said to Ciem will surely not help you at all," Marnie's voice had taken on the tones that made it seem so grown up.

"We're not even. We're not even close to even. Without me, you'd be dead, just like the rest of them. I didn't even want to take you along. It was Dolph who made me take you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be anything but rotting meat. And I could have left you at the castle, stuck with little children who don't know your true potential. Why should I take you to the valley? It's not like I care what happens to _your_ people," Evie sneered at Marnie as she crossed her arms and stuck up her chin. She stressed the word your to agitate Marnie and she knew it worked. She heard a rustling in the bushes and turned to look, but Marnie began talking and her attention returned to the child.

"You're lying. I know how much you want to belong. I know that you want to bring back _our _people back. Why else would you have gone through so much to get us this far? It can only that you care for what happens," Marnie demanded and Evie felt her fear.

"Do I?" Evie asked, sounding nonchalant, even though Marnie's words were truth. But she was angry and she wanted to make someone else feel pain. So she would make that little girl sweat. "Why would I want a race to come back that abandoned me? Why would I care about what happened to people that I don't even know? What makes you think that I need to belong? I've never belonged before and making my own way is something I enjoy. And the only reason that I'm here is because I was tired of living off the king. You're lucky I let you come along. And remember, I'm the one with the map and I can leave anytime I want."

With those words said, she spun on her heel and stormed away, back to the camp. She took a seat by herself at the fire, eating a small portion of the dinner. Marnie came back a few minutes latter, glaring at her. But Evie just raised a questioning brow and Marnie subsided.

"Let me look at your foot," Evie heard Riley say as he squatted before her. She felt Ciem's heated gaze on her and met it, even though the rage swimming in the blue made her cringe inside. Evie stood, pulling away from Riley.

"Apparently, because of my foolish stunt, I deserve my wounds. I got what I deserved, when I so foolishly jumped into the slimy swamp and tried to swim. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed, where I can dream of some day getting a kiss from a handsome prince who's nothing but a fool."

With that declared, she stormed away, into the tent and fell against her bedroll, to furious to even move. She felt as if the whole group was against her. If her father hadn't been depending on her, she was almost certain that she would have left that very instant. But as Marnie had said, she wanted desperately to belong, and the one way to make that happen was if she could bring back her people.

That night, Ciem was once again forced to sleep next to her. She kept her back to him, and soon he was asleep, as were everyone else.

She waited until late into the night before she allowed her emotions to release. Despite the fact that she didn't like Ciem, despite the fact that what he thought didn't matter to her, what he had said hurt.

Even though he was a pompous jackass that didn't know anything about her, she had felt something when they had linked. And like the foolish girl that she had once been, she had thought he felt something too. But now she knew that he had felt nothing towards her. He simply tolerated her because she came with Marnie. He thought her no better then the groveling, girly Velanie. And that hurt.

For the second time in less then a month, she stuffed her fist to her mouth to stifle her sobs and wept. She curled into a ball, sniffling like child. But it didn't help her one bit. Instead, it made her emotions magnify until she was nothing but a black hole of depression. What she wouldn't give, she thought as she drifted into sleep, was to have someone to hold her and beat back the emotions.

And like the last time she had wept, Ciem woke to the sounds but didn't wonder what had made her weep like this. He knew. He had made her weep like this, and despite the fact that she had jeopardized the mission, he felt bad for making her cry. He would apologize tomorrow.

The next morning, Evie's ankle was swollen and puffy and had turned purple during the night. It was painful and she couldn't even bring herself to move. She lay there, on her back, staring up at the ceiling of the tent.

She knew that Ciem and Riley were waiting for her to leave the tent so they cold put it away, but she also knew that there was no way she would be able to get to her feet and walk out of the tent.

A stirring at the tent flap caught her attention and she turned to see that Ciem was entering the tent. She stifled a groan as she turned on her side, her back to him. She didn't want to talk to him, didn't want to even look at him. But he had other plans.

"Evie, I would like to apologize for yesterday. I had no right to say those things to you and I want you to know that I'm sorry that I made you cry. I know that you did. I heard you last night, and I know that I hurt you, and I'm sorry."

Evie gave a snort and rolled onto her back to see him kneeling over her, a frown marring her brow. She couldn't help it, she laughed, a low bitter laugh.

"You didn't make me cry," she lied through her teeth without a pang of guilt. "My ankle was twisted in the swamp and when I turned over in the night it hurt. The tears were simply a reaction to the pain." To prove her words, she flung back the blankets of the bedroll and pointed to her purple ankle. "Could you please get Riley? I wish to have it healed as I can't very likely ride like this."

Ciem stared in disbelief, then in anger. He had apologized to her and she had laughed in his face. He made an angry sound before storming from the tent and snapping at Riley to see to Evie.

After Riley had seen to her Evie left the tent without so much as a limp. Ten minutes later they were on the road, once again with Evie at the back. As the morning drew on, an uneasy feeling was creeping up on her and by midmorning it became known to Evie that they were being followed. And the presence that was following their trail was one that she had thought long gone from her.

Kempton.

A/N Well, hope you like it. But I'm really starting to not like this story at all. So you guys have to give me some ideas and maybe I can pick it up again.

Nubia


	11. Chapter Ten

Alright all my loyal fans. You can all thank warrior of Tortall who has given me inspiration and I will now continue the story. This next chapter is kinda dramatic I think. And I want to clarify that in the end, what she is feeling is an exagerated kind of shock that Empaths have when they are under to much emotinal stress. K?

Chapter ten:

Evie urged her horse forward until she was even with Ciem. Marnie gave her a dirty look, but Evie didn't notice. She was thinking. At the speed that Kempton was going, they would be over taken in an hour at the latest. They had to get of the path, and find a way to cover their tracks. If Kempton found her or Marnie, the trip would be over, because he would capture them, or possibly kill them.

When Evie had escaped Kempton, she had practically signed her death warrant. He didn't look highly on those who betrayed him, and she had crossed that line. Once she had been his prized slave. Now she was a fugitive, and he hated her.

"What?" Ciem demanded after several moments of silence. Evie jerked her head to face him, giving him a sharp look.

"We're being followed. We have to get of the road, or he'll kill us," Evie said baldly as she went back to her planning. But Marnie gasped and she looked at her, saw the horror on her face and smiled.

"Is it...?" Marnie asked leaving a space for Evie to fill in the blank.

"Yes, its him. He'll over take us in an hour. If we get into the trees and back track, we'll come out behind him and he won't be able to find us. We'll need something to cover our tracks. Let's move. I want into the woods in less then ten minutes, our tracks gone!"

She moved to turn her horse around to explain to Almay, Riley, and Velanie what was going on, but Ciem grabbed her reigns and stopped her.

"You're not in charge, and what I say goes. We'll confront them and ask them what they want," He turned away from her to dismiss, but kept the reigns in his hand.

"Alright, if you want me and Marnie to die a slow agonizing death, then sure, we'll talk to him. Why not?" She tried jerk the reigns loose, but Ciem's hand fisted on them.

"What?" he demanded in a voice that was deadly quite. He had learned it from his mother at a young age and had learned to use it well.

"If you insist on being an arrogant fool and prove my words true," she hissed in a voice that matched his own, "then continue on the path and wait for us all to die. Otherwise, I'm taking Marnie and we're heading into the trees."

Marnie didn't even wait for Ciem to agree. She knew when to stay and when to move, and she knew how to save her own hide. She knocked Ciem's hand out of the way and jumped onto Evie's horse. Evie gave Ciem one last glance before turning her horse and plunging it into the trees.

She wasn't surprised when she heard Ciem following. For some strange reason that she couldn't understand, Ciem was attached to the child. She looked over her shoulder to see Ciem calling for her to wait.

The horse was pulled to a stop and Evie turned to look at Ciem as he stopped beside her. "Alright, we'll do it your way. I have a spell that will keep the horses from making hoof prints. But why must we go backwards? It would be easier if we continue on our way, wouldn't it?"

"No," Evie said, her decision final. "If we're in front of him there's a chance he can follow us. He'll pass us and get lost and we'll find an alternate route to Marnie's home."

Ten minutes later, they were trekking through the trees, hidden in shadows. Ciem had a marvelous spell that kept any tracks from being made. It also prevented the horses from making any sound. They moved fast, trying to gain ground on Kempton. They came upon him in thirty minutes, stopping to ensure that they didn't catch his eye.

Evie's horse ended up squeezed between Ciem's and Riley's. She was so close to Ciem that their legs were touching. The link between them remained closed, but Ciem could feel her body trembling.

When Kempton's horse came into view, she gasped, struck anew at his beautiful features. He had eyes of stormy gray that could make a woman tremble in pleasure and a man quiver in fear with a single look. His hair was windblown and the color of black, dark as sin. His face as strong and lean, his jaw square, his mouth beautiful. _He_ was beautiful.

She looked to his hands, those slender, artist hands. Hands that were made to create something beautiful in the world. She shuddered. He had used those hands on her so many times she had lost count. The pain he had caused with those hands was still bright in her memory. He had used those beautiful, angelic hands for evil.

Ciem looked to Evie. Her body was so taught with tension he thought she would snap. Her eyes were fastened on the man's face as if looking away from him would mean the end of the world. He felt her fine tremors and took it for pleasure, not terror.

Evie let her breath shudder out when she realized that she was holding it. The crack of the whip sounded in her brain and she flinched, turning her head to the side until her cheek touched her shoulder.

She had thought the terror had faded, that she was stronger then she had been before. But she wasn't. She was still a quivering mess of flesh, terrified at the thought of him seeing her, hearing her, thinking of her.

It was as if the half-year that she had been away from him hadn't happened, that she was still in the cages, still surrounded by death and pain. Her back and legs burned as if the wounds were still fresh, not long healed over.

Nausea rose in her throat, turning her stomach as the smell filled her nostrils. She covered her mouth as she suppressed a sob. Panic welled, overbearing the terror and she had an almost uncontrollable urge to run as far and as fast as she could.

But Kempton was passing, as was the fear and the memories. She waited until ten minutes had passed since the last of Kempton's men were gone before speaking. "We should continue back tracking for the rest of the day under the cover of the trees. We'll camp at sunset."

Without another word, she pulled her horse from the line and began back down the trail. Her stomach was still queasy, but she forced it to settle, refusing to give into the weakness. She refused to allow him to have any power over her. She would be strong, and never again would she cower in fear at his feet.

The rest of the day was taxing on Evie and by the time they were setting up camp in a clearing deep in the woods, far from the trail, Evie was ready to drop. She made the fire and set the food to being prepared. She wasn't up to eating, as yet and her stomach revolted at the smell.

She moved away from the campfire and sat on a fallen tree, her back to the camp, wrapping her arms around her abdomen. Her emotions were still shaky and she wanted time alone to collect herself before going to sleep. She knew that seeing Kempton again had opened the door into a world filled with forgotten memories and dreams filled with horror.

"Still wanting your lover?" a cream filled voice asked from behind her. Terror seized her and froze her throat as she turned, her eyes wide. When she saw it was only Ciem, she schooled her features into boredom.

"What are you talking about?" Evie asked in a voice that matched her expression.

"Your lover, the man that we hid from. You could have fooled me with your urgency to hide. But I felt you trembling. How long have you been sleeping with him? A month? A year? Since you left your family?"

Evie felt as if she had been slapped. He thought she was Kempton's lover? The thought was so horrifying she shuddered in disgust. Ciem saw it and snarled.

"Even now you tremble for him when you're miles from him. What, are you two in a fight? Did he refuse to marry you so you stole his child? No, I know what you did. It all makes perfect sense. I can't believe I didn't see it before. But it all makes since. The arrows in your back, dressing as a man."

Evie flinched when he laughed bitterly. She crossed her arms over her chest and waited, knowing what was to come would be the absolute truth to him. The worst he could do was leaving her behind, but that he couldn't do because she had the map glowing across her sunken midriff.

"You made it look as if someone had kidnapped you and Marnie. It would explain the hostility between you two, why you never talk. You must have been seen and that's why you had the arrows in you back. When we took you to the palace, it must have fit right into your plans. Now you had a place to stay where he couldn't find you very easily. But you decided that it was time you were returned home. So you came up with this elaborate scheme to make it seem like you saved her from the kidnappers. But your plans went fowl when you found out that he was right behind us, returning home. You couldn't very well show up with his daughter in tow with knights of the king's escorting you. It would seem as if we saved you and all your hard planning would have been for naught."

He gave another bitter laugh before sobering and she saw the pure hate in his eyes. "You disgust me, using a little child to make your lover crawl. That has got to be the lowest thing any one can do. You're a sick, twisted freak and if you didn't have the map I would leave you behind. Your lucky I don't just search your stuff, steal the map and leave you behind. From this moment on, you don't speak to Marnie or me; you don't even look at us. When there's a change in direction, you ride up front and go the right way. But you don't say a word. You take one step out of line and I leave you here, without food, without a horse, and without a pack. Got it?"

Evie could do nothing but nod mutely. She knew that if she tried to defend herself it would make her look guiltier then she already did. She didn't think she could even speak in her own defense if she was given a chance. His words had hurt her, more then was rational or logical. They had striped her raw and left her vulnerable. It had made her feel lower then the lowest low, and it wasn't even true. She felt raw inside, empty, devoid of any emotions.

Ciem gave her one more disgusted look before turning his back on her and walking away. But she couldn't make a move to stop him. She couldn't do anything but stand there and bare the on slot of vacant emotion.

A few minutes later she mustered enough wits to walk to the river. She sat on a rock and just stared into the water. How could this have happened? She was supposed to be the good guy, the person that helped save her people. Instead she was made out to be the tramp, the back stabber.

Was any of this worth it? Did her people mean so much to her that she would suffer through this... this lack of emotion? All her life she had had one emotion or another bright with in her, warming her, giving her something to have. But now, there was nothing. She was empty, a hole inside her where her emotions had leaked away. She was a husk, an empty shell, striped of everything.

She supposed what she was feeling was shock, but she felt even that was out of her reach. Ciem had taken something from her, something that Kempton had never accomplished. He had taken her emotions and essentially broken her.

Her body crumpled and she fell to the ground, curling into herself, but she felt nothing. Not pain. Not fear. Not sadness. Not even blessed numbness. She felt nothing. And it was all Ciem's fault.

If she had been capable, she knew that she would be weeping.

A/N What did you think? Personnaly I think it is way to dramatic. But I hope that you like it! Review.

Nubia


	12. Chapter Eleven

A/N Well, here's the next link in the chain. I want feed back, lots of feed back because this is not the original chaoter. I scrapped it because I went with what Lindalee4 gave me in a review. I don't think its my best work, but hope you like it.

Chapter eleven:

For the next several days Evie moved as if in a daze. She didn't speak, hardly moved and sleep was a thing she could only dream of. She was plagued with a lack in herself and spent her time trying to make herself feel something. But it was all in vain. She couldn't even feel physical pain.

Two nights before she had been at the fire cooking a dinner she hadn't eaten. Her hand had touched the hot pan, but she hadn't even flinched, just continued what she was doing. She hadn't even realized that she was hurt until Riley had asked to heal her.

Hunger had also fled along with the rest of her emotions. She hadn't eaten since that day that Ciem had accosted her with his accusations. But for the life of her, she couldn't feel blame. She knew it was his fault, but that didn't really seem to matter.

The night of the incident, as she was want to call it for lack of a better word, she had pulled out the maps she had talked herself into bringing along and found an alternate route to the next marker on the trail to the valley.

As they traveled it today, she stayed in the lead, knowing that she needed to keep a sharp eye out for the turn of. They were walking around a small mountain, taking the long way. This particular trail curved along a cliff. She had looked down upon first guiding her horse onto the ledge and discovered that a river ran along that bottom and felt nothing.

Ciem had made the strict rules that they were to go single file, sticking to the inside of the path. He had handed Marnie off to Riley, wanting to be sharp incase any of the horses stumbled.

Evie remained silent, still, staring straight ahead of her. When Velanie pulled up along side her, Evie didn't even turn to look. She simply moved her horse aside to allow Velanie to have room to ride her horse.

"What did you do to Ciem?" Velanie asked. Evie turned her head and gave her a dead gaze before shrugging. "Answer me!"

"I just did. I shrugged. Didn't you see?" Evie's voice was flat. Velanie gave her a second glance, before getting back into her indignant state of mind.

"Well, whatever it was, I want you to apologize. He's been upset for almost a week now. I demand that you tell me what you did to him, so I can help!" Velanie would have stomped her foot if she had been on solid ground. Evie turned and gave her another dead look.

"I told you, I did nothing. I don't know what's wrong with him. If something's wrong, maybe you should ask him," she returned to her vacant contemplation of the road ahead of her.

Ciem, seeing Evie blatantly disregarding his direct orders, sped up to give her a piece of his mind. He saw Velanie make a sharp movement with her hand and Evie give a reply. As he pulled up along side them, Velanie lunged at Evie, intent on strangling her.

Evie jerked back, but she was lighter then before and accidentally hurled herself from the saddle, knocking back into Ciem. He lost his balance and they plummeted over the side of the cliff.

Her last thought as they hurtled over the side of the cliff, Ciem wrapped around her back, was that the water would ruin her last clean dress.

Evie groaned as she tried to move. Her whole body was stiff and sore. For a moment, she couldn't remember why. But then it came back and she realized that she must have hit the water pretty hard.

She opened her eyes and tried to sit up, but her head was reeling with pain. She hadn't realized that she'd screamed until the echoes sent pain rippling across her brow.

"Lay back down before you hurt yourself," she heard a gruff voice and knew it to be Ciem's. She laid back down, to tired to disobey his command. She shivered as a breeze drifted across her bare skin.

She gasped and sat up, ignoring the pain and looked down at herself. She was naked. In an instinct she had thought Kempton had broken, she covered herself with her hands, drawing her knees to her chest.

"Where are my clothes?" she demanded in a meek voice that trembled violently. Without her clothes, she was vulnerable, something Kempton had enjoyed teaching her. He had often stripped her naked to just look at her, enjoying her utter humiliation and shame before causing her pain.

"I had to take them off to dry. I didn't want you to catch a chill while you were out. It's almost dark and your clothes are dry. You may get dressed," Ciem stood and handed her clothes before turning his back and allowing her to change in privacy.

One thing was for sure, she thought as she finished shimming into her dress, she had her emotions back, humiliation at the front.

"Where'd you get all those scars?" Ciem asked as he turned back to face her. Evie glared at him as she combed her fingers through her scraggly hair.

"We should try and find a way to get back to the trail. Marnie can't get back to her _father _without—"

"Answer the question," his voice had taken on the deadly calm that she so well remembered. He used it only on her, so she should know it. Anger, blessed anger, rose sharp and vengeful.

"Why should I listen to you?" Evie demanded, uncaring that the force of her emotions would tear through her if she let them free reign. "Why should I? Since the moment we have met you've done nothing but belittle me. I went from Marnie's savior to her father's whore. Is there any lower I can get in your eyes? Next thing I know you'll be saying that I asked for the whip. That I wanted to be beaten and abused and left for dead! You'll be saying that I'm some sick freak who loves pain and now I'm on a single minded mission to regain it."

She looked up at his face and almost gagged with disgust. It was clear to her that he believed every word. The rage built and built until she was sure that steam was escaping from her ears. But she kept her voice calm and her rage in check, knowing it was a dangerous thing.

"I can't believe you! What has that little creep done to twist you so much? I can see inside you and I know this wasn't what you once were. But right now I could care less. Your foolish pride and thoughts have driven me over the edge. I don't need you any more. I'm going on without you. You can just sit here and wait until someone comes to get you."

With that she turned on her heel and started marching for the bluff, hoping there was a way to reach the top.

Ciem stood, watching as the thing that made bile rise in his throat walked away. She had dared to talk to him like that and it made his eyes burn black with rage. His insides felt as if they were burning, charred to black by the spell Marnie had used to trap him. But he didn't care.

Ideas formed in his head rapidly, coming and going. He grabbed onto a random thought and charged forward, not caring what the thought contained.

Evie was yanked to halt as Ciem grabbed her arm and pulled her around. She started as his black rage shot through her body, burning though her like wildfire. She cried out as she fought to be free of the touch.

Ciem's eyes widened as he saw the girl in front of him, the innocent woman that had done nothing to him, nothing to anyone. She had simply been and that had made him feel something. And that something had threatened what he believed in. But as he stood there now, causing her this pain, the spell that Marnie had woven snapped and he stepped back.

He was horrified that he had done this, he could see the pain that cascaded through her. She was sobbing and gagging and clinging to him to stay upright as his rage was slowly sapped from him.

"Evie?" he demanded, horrified that he had hurt this woman. He slowly sank to the ground, cradling her in his arms. She nestled against him, crying softly, but slowly she became silent.

Evie huddled against the solid wall of Ciem's chest, all thoughts of rage gone. She knew what rage could do—hadn't she just felt it— and she didn't want to feel it anymore. She was just glad that Ciem had come to his senses before the rage had killed her completely.

This sort of thing had happened to her once before, when she had been unaware that it was possible. Her brother, Mathew, had done this to her once. She forgot what had trigged her brother's anger, but she knew what had caused her pain.

As an empath, her soul communed with emotions and when one was overburdened by emotions, she automatically tried to fix it by taking some of the burden. But rage was a dangerous thing and it ate away at her insides as it did now.

They only thing she could say about what had happened today was that the spell that Marnie had woven were completely gone. She had taken the last remnants of the spell into herself and disposed of them.

Now Ciem's feelings, whatever they may be, towards her would grow uninfluenced because the spell could only be cast on a person once.

Ciem sat dumb as the horror of what he had said and done to Evie crashed through his brain. He had been an animal towards her, calling her names and thinking things about her that should never have been thought. He rapidly sunk into a depression that was a sort of shock.

Evie felt it and knew that she had to do something before he became too bleak for her to help. She also knew that this depression was something that happens after loosing the spell.

"It's alright Ciem," Evie soothed, though she wanted to be soothed herself. But she wouldn't put his life in danger for her needs. He was perilously close to falling so deep in the hole that he would begin to contemplate suicide.

"I don't blame you Ciem. In fact, I forgive you completely. Everything you said meant nothing to me. In fact, I wish we could be best friends. Maybe even more then friends," at her hurried words, Ciem wrapped his arms around her tightly, pressing her close.

"I'm so sorry Evie. I don't know how I could have said those things to you. You're the most innocent person I've ever met and I can never forgive myself for what I did to you."

Evie sighed and did the only thing that she could do. She reached out with her Empath powers and soothed him, creating a link and entering his core, sweeping away all his pain and despair and leaving him with nothing but what was naturally supposed to be there.

He slowly drifted to sleep as she guided him into the dreamland. She sighed as he slumped to the ground, finally back to what he had once been.

She yawned as she stood and stretched. Using her powers so much after so long without had left her tired. She looked around deciding that the head back up could wait until tomorrow.

She snuggled close to Ciem, wanting his warmth and soon started to drift off herself. A chilling voice snapped her into consciousness.

"Well, slave, it looks as if we meet again."

A/N I also want to thank je suis une pizza. What you said was very nice.


	13. Chapter Twelve

A/N Well, here's the latest chapter. Man I am just on a roll. Everything seems to be coming together. Review please.

Chapter twelve:

Evie scrambled to her feet, wanting to have every chance of escape open to her. She didn't have to stand here and let Kempton do what he wanted of her. The chains that had held her terrorized to Kempton had been broken sometime in the past days since she had seen him.

She had been through so much more that took so much more from her then what Kempton could ever do. And realizing that, she felt no fear. All she felt was a slight pity towards Kempton.

"I suppose you wish to leave now, right?" Evie asked as she bent to make sure that Ciem was all right. At least that's how she justified it to herself. She smoothed her hand across his brow, sweeping back his dark hair and planted a kiss on his forehead. She stared at his face, one that had so often been twisted in rage, rage towards her, and yet, she didn't feel hate towards him.

She felt something else, something that she had never felt before in her life. And she pondered it, wondering what could have brought about this change. Her hand rested on his shoulder as a soft expression settled on her face.

"Well, lets get moving. I want to be away when he wakes up. The less chance we'll have of him trying to be a hero and come after me. Ready?" Evie stood and looked up at Kempton, noticing the surprise on his face.

"You're being very blunt," Kempton said in a voice that had once frightened her and now simply grated on her nerves. "I suppose I'll have to beat that out of you. Come, up on the horse, slave."

Evie sighed, resigned to having her shield up for a long time. As she settled onto the horse behind Kempton, not much acting like a slave but as one being inconvenienced she felt a slight tingling across the surface of her abdomen.

Birds twittered along the river, utterly happy with spring. The flitted through the air, sweeping up and down as their sweet melodies filled the air.

Silence reigned after a blood-curdling scream filled the air.

Ciem rolled into himself, gasping for air as his stomach muscles clenched and shot fire along his nerves. He fought back another scream as he controlled the urge to weep. Ye Gods! What had happened to him in his sleep?

He whimpered as he slowly lifted his shirt, looking down to his pained stomach. Spiraled across his stomach in teal lines was a map. And not just any map, he knew. But the map. The map that would lead Marnie to his home.

"Shut up boy. What are you screaming about?" At the sound of the gravely voice, Ciem scrambled to his feet, dropping his shirt and taking on a fighting stance, ready for anything.

But then he stopped and looked at the man before him, really looked. His hair was deep dark red with a wave, Evie's hair. His eyes were almonds, filled with a deep dark purple, and in them sparkled a Gift, one that he realized now Evie possessed, Evie's eyes. This man had Evie's face, only on a different body and without the scar.

"Who are you?" Ciem whispered, the pain in his abdomen forgotten.

"My names DeGraw. Evie's my daughter. And you're the reason why Kempton has taken her. Again," his voice was filled with disgust, but not towards the boy. Towards Marnie. She was the one that twisted Ciem and so she was the one that would be despised.

"What do you mean 'taken'?" Ciem asked, settling down onto the ground. He looked up at the man in wonder. This was Evie's real father and he was awed. This man possessed power that went beyond anyone else's. And instinctively he knew that DeGraw didn't use it the way anyone else did. This magic was for something entirely different.

"Kempton came and stole her away, no doubt to take her back to the castle and torture her some more. I curse the day that I gave her this silly task. Who cares if my people never come back? At least then I would have a daughter to hold. Now I have nothing but an impossible dream," DeGraw hung his head and Ciem was saddened to see such a proud creature, for he knew that DeGraw was proud, hang his head in shame.

"What are you talking about?" Ciem demanded as he looked up at him, completely lost as to what was going on.

"Evie is going to die unless I go save her. And if I save her my people won't be able to come back. For if I save her, the chance will be lost. But if I save my people, she'll die. Who do I choose? The daughter I've always wanted to hold? Or the people that I belong and owe my life to?"

Ciem remained confused and DeGraw sighed. "Allow me to explain it too you boy. Kempton is an evil man. He holds this grudge against us Empaths—"

"Empaths?" Ciem interrupted. DeGraw sighed.

"Did my daughter explain nothing to you? Let me start from the very beginning then. Long ago, Empaths were held in high esteem. They had the amazing gift of being able to see inside a person's mind, inside there being. With a simple look, they could tell what the person felt, how much he felt, what that feeling did to him, what his reactions were, the consequences of the emotions. It was very much like looking into their soul, seeing the very fabric of their making. And it was very useful.

"Many Empaths were at the hands of the king and higher nobles, allowing them to know when they were being betrayed, who they could trust. They were highly respected, and often treated as royalty, even though the Empaths were bred most easily through common blood. But regardless, they were in high demand. Everyone wanted an Empath by their side." There was a line of Empaths, the DeHants, who were exceptionally skilled. They knew everything about the persons before them, so much that with a single touch they could see the person's memories, live their lives, feel their emotions along their lives until they knew the person as well as the person knew themselves. And it all happened within the time it took to initiate a passing touch.

"The best thing about having an Empath, was that no one knew who they were. An Empath in a crowd of people was safe because each Empath varied in shape size and coloring. And the only time they could see the magic was when an Empath made contact and looked into a persons mind. But it happened so fast people just assumed that they were blinking. Until a king died."

"A king died?" Ciem interrupted. At the moment nothing seemed impossible and he found himself believing the story no matter what.

"Yes, a king was killed. And his Empath knew nothing about who could have done it. So they blamed her. Seeing how she was a DeHant, she must have been able to tell that someone out there was plotting to kill the king. Yet she hadn't known, at least, she didn't tell anyone if she did know. So she was at fault for the king's death. And they killed her for it, sending the rest of the Empaths into exile."

"But, she didn't defend herself?" Ciem demanded, outraged.

"She couldn't say anything. You see, Empaths are very emotional people, and what they feel is genuine. After many years in the King's service, she came to love him, and he came to love her. When he died, so did she, their spirits were so entwined. Without him, she didn't have the strength to continue to live. She had nothing left, so she willingly allowed herself to be accused of his death. And her people understood and gave her no blame. She was loved more for what she did. She died three weeks after her love, and in the moment of her death she sent the picture of her love and her love itself into every Empaths heart. After that, the Empaths could do nothing against the people that fought them. How could they when they were so humbled by their greatest leader's love still in their memories? So they fled, seeking refuge in Galla."

"But what does that have to do with Kempton?" Ciem asked, humbled by the story.

"I'm getting to it. Kempton fully believed that the Empaths killed the king. And so, when he discovered that Empaths still existed, he single handedly captured them all, torturing them. And six months ago, he killed them. All but three. Marnie, Evie and myself. We are the only remaining Empaths. And with Marnie we have the chance to bring them all back. But we needed Evie because she was the only one who could hold the map—"

Ciem gasped, his eyes widening. Slowly he stood and asked as he lifted his shirt and pointed, "This map?"

Now it was DeGraw's turn to gasp, "Yes, yes, that's the map. How'd you get it?"

Ciem just shrugged. "I woke up this morning and there it was. I assume Evie gave it to me, if she's the one that had it before me. Does this mean that we cane save Evie and your people?"

DeGraw nodded, to excited to speak. If Ciem had the map, which meant that Ciem could take Marnie to the valley and he could travel to Kempton's and save his little girl. It would all work out. He could feel it in his blood.

"Sit down boy, we got some planning to do if we're to save everyone." For a long time they sat and discussed. As the sun settled into the horizon, DeGraw sat back.

"Boy, I have one more thing to ask of you. I will create a sword, a sword of great magic. To use this sword will cause you the pain of your victum, for it is an Empaths sword. Yet I ask you to carry it for I know that you will have need of it. Will you accept?"

Ciem remained deadly silent for a very long time, pondering on the question. But he knew the answer as surely as he knew his mothers ame. "I accept."

In a flash of light, a scabbered sword appeared in his hand. Through the grip power rushed, sliding up his arm and warming hs whole body. He knew this sword had power, great power, and he knew that he had reason to fear it, but he didn't. He felt a great respect, but that was all. He would only wield this sword when it was most necessary.

"Gods Bless, Ciem. And may you never find a use for this sword." with that, DeGraw was gone, off to save his daughter. Ciem sat for a long tiem that night, lost in plans and toubled thoughts. At last he turned to sleep, knowing he had a great task ahead of him.

A/N Well, hope you liked it. Special thanks to Je suis une pizza again. You seem to know just what to say to make me want to update. Strange. And did you also know that your name translated to English means I'm from the pizza?


	14. Chapter Thirteen

A/N Here is the next chapter. For those of you who reviewed, thank you ever so much. Mage Light, I wouldn't say i was the queen, but thanks. And Je suis une pizza, that makes a lot more sense then what I thought is was.

Chapter thirteen:

Ciem stepped into the camp gingerly. Much had changed in the two days he had been away. He had changed. No longer was he ruled by his needs, but by the needs of Evie's people. She had gotten under his skin, making him feel emotions he couldn't fathom. But he knew they were real and he knew that they were important.

The sword hung heavy from his belt, a reminder that he would need to use it. But whom would he use it on? He knew that he wanted to use it on Kempton, but that wasn't the right use.

He cleared his throat, bringing his presence to everyone's attention. Velanie, who sat at the fire, weeping silently for her lost Ciem, looked up and gave a scream before jumping to her feet and rushing for him. She captured him in her arms as she clung tight, weeping. Ciem wondered where this had come from.

While trapped in Marnie's spell, he had never thought to look around him, to see the people around him, to see Velanie. He was glad that he hadn't because now he had to work on ignoring her. He took her arms from around his neck and pushed her gently away.

"Where...Why...How?" Riley stammered as he tried to swallow the shock that chocked him. Ciem gave him a wolfish grin, slinging his arm around Riley's shoulder and guiding him over to the fire.

"Well, I used my Gift to stop the fall. Evie was safe, but Kempton showed up and took her away while I slept," seeing their faces he slowly explained to them all that he had learned. He remained silent about DeGraw and the duel purpose of the mission. He trusted the people around him, but he didn't want them to know. There was a reason that Evie hadn't explained to them who and what she was, and he would respect her decision to leave them in the dark.

He stretched as he finished the tale. It was close to dark and he was hungry. Once everyone was assured that they would continue the journey, they set about preparing to move out the next day.

"Ciem," called a soft, small voice. Ciem looked down into the face of the little girl he had thought himself to love so much. She was pale, her skin so white that her veins stood out in sharp relief. Her eyes were to big, filled with to much power to be natural and her smile, one that had been so gentle before, was harsh, almost evil.

"I'm so glad that you are safe," Marnie whispered, trying to climb into his lap. At the touch of her skin he felt nauseated, bile rising in his throat. Marnie saw the reaction and her face darkened into a frown. Making her frightening.

The breath hissed between her teeth as she snarled, "Evie broke the spell, didn't she?"

"You aren't ashamed of what you did?" Ciem asked, appalled that she felt no remorse.

"I never liked you anyways. I simply used you because you were strong and would intimidate Evie. It seems I was wrong if she was able to break the spell. Besides, I don't need to use you anymore. You're taking me to the valley anyways. Love makes such fools," she sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

Ciem saw a shadow of a woman in her then she was pressing her face close to his, breathing out a sharp warning. "You screw this up, and I'll have to hurt you."

She fluffed her hair and walked away. Ciem felt his hand reaching for the sword at his side, and he frowned, shaking off the feeling that Marnie was more dangerous then she seemed.

He sighed and went to the tent, wanting to be well rested. Tomorrow they would reach the valley. Tomorrow Evie's people would rise again.

DeGraw approached the castle that h held his daughter trapped. He looked up at the jagged towers as they slashed against the horizon. He sighed, knowing that he had to go in there to save his daughter.

His thoughts softened, as did his face, as he thought of his daughter. She had always been a joy to him, even though he had never met her in person. He had been able to watch her through a power the Empaths called dream walking. While he slept he had often traveled to Evie's body and watched her, getting a sense of why she was the person she was.

He had seen the way her so called family had treated her and though he wished he could help her, the prophecy had forced him to stay away.

His face sharpened as he thought of the prophecy. Since the day he had become a man he had been bond to the prophecy. He had discovered it on accident while exploring a library in his father's home in Galla. It had explained to him how to defeat the Empaths enemies and bring them back to their rightful place of honor.

Today, the prophecy reigned in full swing and it had swept away his daughter. But he wondered if the prophecy could be wrong. It had never spoken of Ciem, never mentioned that one would come into play who would save both the people and his daughter.

DeGraw frowned, panic welled. Could the prophecy be wrong? Could all he had worked for have been a lie? And if the prophecy was wrong, what would happen in the valley? What would be the price of bringing back his people? What would be the price for him letting them be taken away?

A shiver crept down his spine as dark thoughts clouded his mind. A guilt haunted his heart, a guilt that he would never shake off. He was the one who had given Kempton the power to find the Empaths. For the prophecy had demanded it of him.

He had learned to live with the guilt, because he knew that by giving them up, he would begin the process to bringing them back to honor. But it haunted him still. And at times like these, when he was alone and had no one to distract him from his thoughts, he sunk dangerously close to depression.

The grip on his sword tightened. He knew that if he could save his daughter, he would be able to deal with the guilt a little easier. He sighed, and climbed into the sewer tunnels.

The rescue mission had begun.

Kempton sat in his comfy chair in his vast library, staring into the roaring fire. A glass of brandy was settled in his relaxed hand, but he did not drink. He was too lost in his thoughts to drink.

Evie was the center of his thoughts. The slave had gotten strong while she had been away. Much had changed and it seemed as if she felt no pain when he tried his hardest to hurt her. She simply sighed and allowed him to do as he wished. He had done everything he could think of, short of taking her innocence, and still, he saw no change.

He wondered what she had been through while she had been away, what horrors she had seen that his beatings paled against them.

With a sigh, he rose to inspect a bookcase, looking at books fit for a king. And indeed they had once been a king's. A very special king. His great uncle had been a king. A king who had been killed before his time.

He selected the book he wanted. It was old and well read, a book on ancient torture. He had never tried any of the tortures suggested. But now he wondered if it was the right decision. Evie had a secret and he wanted it made known to him.

As he left the library, taking the stairs to the dungeons, he selected a torture and snapped orders at a guard to have Evie prepared.

A/N Okay, review and I might have a chapter for you tomorrow. I know it was kinda short, but well, too bad. Also, I'm starting new fic soon, and it's gonna be a song fic, so have an eye out for it. K?

Nubia


	15. Chapter Fourteen

A/N Thanks to all my reviewers. Sorry it took so long to update. My computer had to be re-formatted. What a pain!! Anyways, this one is extremely short, and I appologize, but I'm very close to finishing this and I want pase myself. Also, I couldn't remeber what one of my characters looked like so I just made up a new apperance. Can you guess who?

Chapter fourteen:

Fog rolled across the snug little valley, hiding the lush green grass and wildflowers that covered the vast area. Ciem stood at the lip of valley not certain if he should enter. DeGraw had never gotten around to explaining how he was to bring the people back.

He looked up into the clouds that meandered across the sky, as if they held the answer. But they didn't, and they floated by as they always had. He looked down to the valley.

His hand tightened and rested on the sword as had become habit in the ay it had taken to get to the valley. He wasn't sure what he needed it for, but he was reassured knowing it was there.

"What do you think?" Riley asked as he pulled up next to Ciem. With a long sigh, his horse was nudged forward and into the valley. The fog surrounded him immediately. He heard a muffled protest from Marnie, who sat in his lap. He had forgotten she was there a long time ago.

He just couldn't figure it out. He knew that Marnie had the power; he just didn't know how to use it. He gave another sigh and began to search the valley meticulously, looking for any clue.

DeGraw came out of the sewers and into the dark dungeons, feeling his way along the wall. He had focused his powers on to Evie and used that to draw him towards her. Every few seconds he felt the power flicker and knew that Kempton was hurting her. But he couldn't chance a hurried step for fear that he would be caught.

As he crept along, memories of pain and abuse hurled themselves at him and he felt the wind cold against the tear tracks on his face.

Guilt ate at his heart because he was responsible for this. All of this. How could he ever look at his people again? He had started all this.

Fighting off the feelings clouding his bind, he stumbled of a sudden step and fell forward onto his hands and knees, his head basked in sudden light.

"Hello Papa," he heard Evie say in a weary voice. "You really should have stayed away. He'll get us both now."

DeGraw looked up into the face of the most beautiful and cold-hearted man he had ever seen and knew true fear.

Ciem gave a frustrated growl. Four hours, he had been at this for four hours and he had found nothing. Throwing his head back in anger he yelled. "What did you expect, DeGraw?"

As if he had said the magic word, aqua light flooded the valley, the force knocking him of the horse and back several paces, Marnie along side him. He tried to breath, but the gossamer texture of the aqua filled his lungs, causing him to hack and fall to his knees.

When he lifted his head, the light was gone and in its place stood thousands of people. People who had a haunted look in there eyes. One came forward, looking up at him sharply.

He had blond hair and dazzling green eyes. He couldn't have been more then twenty, Ciem's age.

"I'm Dolph," he whispered. He searched around, taking note of Marnie, but not acknowledging her. What he searched for appeared to be missing for he looked back to Ciem with frantic eyes. "Where's Evie? Where's my love?"

Ciem staggered back as the air whooshed from his lungs. His love? He loved Evie? Did that mean that Evie loved him back? Was the feeling mutual? Were they in love? Did he even have a shot with Evie?

But he had other things to worry about, for from behind him came the most hideous laughter he had ever heard. He turned to see Marnie, her eyes glwoing dangerously, laughing. He shivered with dread. He knew what he needed the sword for now.

A/N Update! Update! I need your opinions on what you think should happen next! Also, my newest story will be about a girl from our time, an actress, who gets in an accident and is given the chance to live again. The only catch is she ad to live in Tortall and she has to live as a princess and become a knight. What do you think?

Nubia


	16. Chapter Fifteen

A/N. here is your long awaited chapter. I'm sorry that it took so long. But it was hard to write. I hope you like it. This fic is very close to being finished. There are maybe two more chapters, plus the epilogue. Thanks to all my reviewer's and for being so patient.

Chapter fifteen:

DeGraw looked from Evie, who sat chained to a chair, back to Kempton. It had been fifteen years since he had seen that face, and then it had been so innocent and kind. But that had been before he had been corrupted by magic.

"Hello, DeGraw, so nice of you to join us. I was so looking forward to our little chat. You have the answers to some very important questions of mine," Kempton snapped his fingers and guards came forward from the shadows. They grabbed DeGraw and tied him to a chair beside Evie.

"I must say, if this was a rescue mission, you didn't do so well. But I did enjoy laughing at your progress. The stench I could do without. Now, I have a question for you. Do you realize what the outcome of this prophecy is?"

DeGraw just stared. His brain fizzed with useless thoughts as he realized his predicament. He had walked right into a trap. And now he was no better off then his daughter. They would both die here. What a waste.

"Going for the silence routine, are we? I'm sure we can fix that," Kempton slowly uncoiled his whip, allowing DeGraw plenty of time to answer.

"I… uh… yes, I know the outcome," DeGraw clamped control on his mind. He was acting like an idiot. And idiots got killed. "Of course I know the outcome. I've been raised on the prophecy practically. Why do you ask?"

"Did you also know that it was a forked prophecy?" Kempton's voice was filled with triumph. And DeGraw knew why. He had had no idea that it was a forked prophecy.

"You see DeGraw, you had everything in order for the outcome to come about. But I'm afraid that you were working for the wrong outcome. With you here, in my clutches, everything will fall into place. Marnie will destroy the Empaths once again and I will have their power. All of it. Can you possibly conceive of what that gives me?" Kempton shouted the last, then gave an evil laugh.

"Ye Gods," DeGraw whispered. "What have I done?"

Ciem stared at the young man, unbelieving his own ears. Could he possibly have said what Ciem thought he said?

"You know Evie?" the man asked, raising his eyebrows at Ciem, who nodded. He didn't know what to say, how to act. Where had these feelings for Evie come from? He couldn't remember them being there before.

"Evie's with Kempton, Dolph," Ciem heard Marnie hiss from his side. He watched the man's face fall and he felt hopelessness weigh on him. He knew Dolph now. He'd heard his name on Evie's lips before and the mere fact made him aware that Evie could possibly love this man back. And though it was selfish of him, he couldn't help feel anger towards him for coming back.

"How?" Dolph whispered, his voice hollow. "How could you let her be captured? We worked so hard to free her so that she could live."

He stared down at his feet, and it occurred to Ciem that they didn't seemed to be surprised to be living again. Was that normal? "Aren't you the least bit curious about why you're alive?"

"We know why we're alive," Dolph whispered. "Before we saw the aqua light, Evie spoke to us. She said that someone would bring us back. And that we would be in danger. But she told us that a man would protect us and keep us safe. Are you he?"

Ciem stared at the older man, feeling as if he were the older. Dolph acted like a little lost child, and Ciem felt an instinct rise in him. An instinct to protect. He no longer cared what was between him and Evie, all that mattered was that Ciem was here to keep them alive. "Yes, I'm that man."

A vile sound grated across his nerve endings at that moment. He turned suddenly his hand on his sword and looked at the thing that laughed. It was Marnie, or what Marnie had become. A creature stood before him, grotesque in the fact that pure evil exuded from it.

It was tall, with skin like transparent silk. Underneath the skin wreathed things of evil, slithering along the skin, making it rise. Ciem knew that the only thing keeping them in was the creature's fragile outer skin.

The face was worst of all. It was stretched so thin that the skin hung along the bones, making it skeletal. The eyes were feverish with power, a power that was a match to the devils. Horns thrust from its temples with jagged points. Ciem clutched at the sword.

The thing laughed again, and when it spoke, it had Marnie's voice underplayed with another the deep voice of a man. "Your sword is useless against me, human. Nothing can destroy me. Nothing!"

As if to prove it, it roared and flung out its hand. Ciem heard screams and felt, more then saw, people die behind him. Empaths. The creature laughed and inhaled deeply. A mist of aqua air floated towards it, and the creature sucked it in. In the cloud, Ciem saw faces.

Dread filled him as he settled into a fighting stance. Everything around him disappeared until he was focused solely on the creature. He knew what he had to use the sword for now.

Evie remained still in the bonds that held her to the chair. Her mind raced, trying to explain what she had heard. She knew what prophecies were, but she wasn't certain what a forked one meant. She vaguely recalled that a forked prophecy meant that it had two possible outcomes and at a certain point the person had to choose which path to take.

What she didn't understand was, what her father and Kempton had to do with the prophecy. So she remained still, ready to do what was necessary. During her time here, she had become aware of a power growing inside her. She wasn't certain where it had come from or how to use it exactly, but she knew that it was what could bring Kempton down. As soon as she found out that he was talking about.

"Praying to the Gods, DeGraw? I don't believe they can help you know. You've sealed your fate. _When blood of the betrayed king and blood of the one who betrayed meet at last the nation will fall, and the rightful shall consume the power._" Kempton recited and laughed again.

DeGraw felt the blood rush from his face. He knew that part of the prophecy, had read it thousands of times. Had he interoperated it wrong? He had thought it was the first step into making the truthful outcome. That's why he had given the power to Kempton. He had thought that by meeting Kempton, he had sealed the fate of his people. Made the outcome final. Now, he wasn't so sure.

Beside him he didn't notice Evie stiffen slightly.

"You foolish, simple-minded man. You thought it meant you would regain the power, didn't you? Well, you were wrong. It was the second fork of the prophecy. And I am the one who is rightful. I shall consume the power. I shall rule it all. And you shall be the first to experience the pain that I will be able to conjure. Or should I start with your lovely daughter?" Kempton tapped his fingers to his lips, as if he hadn't been planning this all along.

"Yes, I think it would be best if I started with your daughter. Then you can watch her suffer."

Evie, who had remained silent since first speaking to her father, suddenly laughed. It was a giddy sound, and DeGraw was certain she had gone stark raving mad. But she hadn't. She had figured it all out. She cackled with glee, tears streaming from her eyes. Then she fixed her glare on Kempton.

"Yes. Start with me. I'm certain that would be best, you bastard." And then she spit in his face.

"You—" Kempton growled, storming forward and grabbing her throat. DeGraw watched as Evie's eyes began to glow and Kempton began to pale. It wasn't soon after that he began to scream.

A/N Well, that was it. What has Evie begun to do to Kempton? Aned what is going on with Ciem? You'll just have to wait to find out. And I promise I will try to update sooner. I think i'm back on track now. Thanks again to all my reviewers!

Nubia


	17. Chapter Sixteen

AN Well here is the long awaited chapter sixteen. Thank you all so much for being patient with me. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Sixteen:

Ciem grunted as he swung the sword towards the beast before him. It gave a hideous laugh that turned into a scream of rage when the blade sliced though it. All movement ceased as the sword fell to the ground and Ciem's face glowed with triumph.

"No," hissed the beast in its nail-biting tone. "How is this possible? No mere human can destroy me! I am immortal!"

"Not for long!" Ciem screamed as he once more raised the sword and swung it, his aim true. The sword landed in the beast's neck, catching for a split second that seemed to drag on for hours before continuing all the way through. The last sound the beast made was an agonized scream before it melted into a puddle of aqua liquid.

"I never really liked you anyways," Ciem spat as he stared down at it. Cheering reached his ears and he turned to see the entire Empath nation clapping for him. He was humbled beyond words.

A burning sensation reached his hand and he dropped the sword into the puddle where it then melted down into a liquid and mixed with the aqua before both seeped into the ground. He stared at it for several seconds before shrugging. He had never really been all that attached to the sword. It had been given to him with express purpose of being used to kill.

"I thank you, Ciem," a voice whispered and he turned to Dolph, the man that Evie loved and could do nothing but shake his hand.

"And I thank you. Now, we must hurry to Evie. She is in danger and we must save her," Ciem explained, motioning the Empath to follow him to the horses.

"But you have lost your sword," Dolph explained, limping at the speed. Though he had died and come back to life, his body had not changed and he still bore the scars of Kempton's work.

"I don't need it for what we are to do. I would kill the man with my own hands if it is needed."

"Very well," Dolph acknowledged with a bowed head. He had no room to worry for this man as his heart was with Evie. She was what was important now.

* * *

Evie revealed in Kempton's scream, a slow lecherous smile crossing her face as the power filled her. She had been working on this spell for days now, gathering the memories that haunted this place and folding them into a delicate web, which she now placed over Kempton.

This web of memories forced him to live through them, not as himself, but as the victim of the pain. The pain that he himself caused. And watching him, knowing that he now knew what he had done toher poor people, gave her a small amount of peace. It would never make what he did to her people right, but it was a small step in the way of pay back.

She used a fraction more of her power to seal the spell around him and to put it in a loop so that the spell would continue until someone came to stop it and turned to her father with a lovely smile.

"Papa," she breathed as she came to him and embraced him in a serene hug. "Its so glad that I am to see you at last. We have been separated for so long. I am so glad that we are once again together."

DeGraw was a little taken aback by his daughter's behavior. He could see the bruises across her face and the man that had done it was still screaming as he squirmed across the floor. Yet she was untouched by it all. He wondered and marveled at her control.

"My daughter. I am sorry that I have caused you this pain," he said against her shoulder. Her whispered forgiveness caused him to lose the battle against the tears and he wept silently into her shoulder, overjoyed that at last he had his daughter save in his arms.

Evie cried too and they staid like that for a long time, father and daughter reunited at last.

* * *

Evie sat outside the castle with her father, Kempton bound and gagged at her feet, still in the midst of the spell. He would be of no trouble on the return journey to the capital where he would be given justice for his crimes.

She sighed, knowing her people were safe. Ciem had won against Marnie and all would be well. Even as she thought such, she could hear the horses approaching and she knew that Ciem was here.

Joy at seeing him again welled in her heart and she nearly wept with it. How had things escalated so far? She had come from loving Dolph helplessly to loving Ciem as if the world would end if she didn't. And she supposed the problem was she didn't know how she felt about Dolph anymore.

It had been so long since she had had the chance to feel that emotion that she wasn't sure. What worried her was that she would see Dolph again and realize that she still loved him and would have to choice between Dolph and Ciem. She knew that it would be the hardest choice in her life if that were the case.

The horses entered the clearing before the gates to the castle and she turned a smile on her face, ready to welcome Ciem with open arms, but instead she found herself facing Dolph. And what she felt was something she had never expected.

"Evie, my love!" Dolph cried as he stepped from the horse and wrapped her into his arms for the first time in almost half a year. The link between them remained closed. And both knew why.

* * *

Ciem watched as the lover's departed into the woods. They had been eager to escape into the forest, no doubt to be together at last, and he couldn't blame them.

He knew now how much he truly loved Evie. Enough that if Dolph was the one that would make her happy, he wouldn't impose. Evie deserved to be happy after such a hard life, and if Dolph was the one that could do that for her, who was he to take it away from her?

He turned to DeGraw and saw the man, white-faced and bleeding from a broken nose, on the ground at his feet. He knew the man to be Kempton and he was shocked at his appearance.

"What happened to him?" he demanded as he took a seat next to DeGraw on the ground.

"Evie trapped him in a spell. He's reliving everything he did to the Empaths, feeling as they feel. On their level. He'll remain that way until we return to the capital. Did you find a use for the sword?" the question was asked with sorrow and regret.

"Yes," Ciem replied, clearing his throat slightly.

"I'm sorry, Ciem. I knew what was to happen and I'm sorry it had to be you. But you were the only one I could trust with the task. I hope it wasn't too hard?" DeGraw looked at Ciem, sorrow in his eyes and Ciem could only shake his head. How could he explain what he had felt?

A laugh reached his ears from the trees. It was Evie's and it was the happiest sound that he had ever heard her make. And though it made him happy to hear it, it also cut across his heart like a knife wound. He wanted her to be happy but he didn't want to be around when she was, knowing it was another man that was making her so.

He needed to get away from her before he did something stupid, like confess his undying love for her, and embarrass them both. She had the man she wanted. She didn't need him or the complications he would bring to her.

"If you don't mind, DeGraw, I believe that I will take Kempton to the capital now. The sooner he is sentenced the better. It was quite an experience meeting you, DeGraw. Hopefully we will meet again. Under better circumstances," with a flourishing bow, he swept Kempton onto a packhorse, jumped onto a horse himself, and sped from the area. He would return to the capital as soon as possible.

There he would allow his mother to pick a bride for him. He himself would never be capable of doing it. How could he when he would forever love Evie?

* * *

In the forest, Evie quickly embraced Dolph again, opening the link so they could feel each other's emotions. Both found the same thing. While they loved each other, it was the love of a brother and a sister, not of lovers.

"When did you realize that it wasn't like that for us?" Evie whispered, as she read clearly from him that he had known all along.

"Evie, my love, I once had a wife. And it was with her that I discovered what true love felt like. Her name was Rose and I loved her dearly. She died before Kempton took me in. During childbirth," Dolph explained with a sad look in his eyes.

"Why did you never tell me?" Evie whispered, not hurt in the least. She was glad that she hadn't broken his heart. She hadn't damaged it at all, she thought with a silent laugh.

"You needed something to hold onto. If it happened to be me, how was I to stop you? Besides, a man always loves it when he has a beautiful woman fawning over him."

This time Evie laughed aloud, a delicious, carefree laughter. She wouldn't have to choice after all. She didn't love Dolph the way she loved Ciem, and now that it was clear to her, she couldn't wait to tell him so.

"What was she like?" Evie demanded, avid in her need to feel closer to this man that was like a brother to her.

"She was a lot like you, Evie. Though not as sad. She was kind and generous. And she loved live very much. She was so happy that we were to have a baby. It was what she wanted most in life. When I lost her in childbirth, I was devastated. But I knew that she wouldn't want me to stop living just because she was gone. The memory of her is what kept me going through the years."

Evie sighed and smiled, though she was saddened by the story. But she knew that it no longer pained Dolph deeply. It was an ache in him still, but a sweet one, that he enjoyed because it filled him with the love that he had once had.

She sighed wistfully. That was what she would feel with Ciem, she knew, as soon as she was able to tell him the truth. Dolph must have read the thoughts through their link because he smiled and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"I wish you all the luck and love that you can have with that man. He's a good man, Evie. And I know he will make you happy. Lets go tell him the news."

Evie nodded, unable to keep the smile from her face. She wanted so badly for Ciem to wrap her in his arms. That's where she knew that she should be.

But when she emerged from the forest, it was to find him gone. Her heart fluttered wildly as she searched frantically for any sign of him.

"He's gone, Evie," DeGraw called as he struggled to his feet. The pains that had been inflicted in the castle were hard on his tired body. "He left while you were in the woods with Dolph."

"Well," Evie said, walking slowly towards the horses that had been prepared earlier. Determination settled into her bones with ease."We'll just have to go after him. Won't we?"

With that, she swung onto the horses back and set out after the man that she loved.

AN. Well, there you have it. The sixtenth chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.

Nubia


	18. Chapter Seventeen

AN Chapter Seventeen. Hope you enjoy.Warning, lots of fluff in this chapter.

Chapter Seventeen:

Ciem sighed inwardly as he danced around the ballroom, the lovely woman in his arms melting against him. He turned his head slightly so he wouldn't have to smell the fragrance of her beautiful blond hair. It was a lovely smell, he would admit, but it wasn't Evie's, so he couldn't enjoy it.

They had announced the engagement earlier that evening much to the family of the girl's pleasure. Novellee had done as he had asked on his return to the castle and selected a bride for him. She could have done no worse as the woman was lovely and would make an excellent queen.

But she wasn't Evie, so he could find no real enjoyment in her or the marriage. His only salvation was that he would be returning to Serinda in a few weeks and they would have the wedding there. Maybe distance from the woman he loved would help him forget her.

Not that he wanted to forget her, but he was becoming obsessed. It seemed that every time he looked about he would see her. In the faces of women that passed him, in the clouds that he saw from his window, in the stars that he stared at, at night, hoping and praying to the gods that she would realize that he was the one for her. It was becoming ridiculous.

As he spun the beauty that was to be his wife once more around the dance floor he saw her again standing beside his mother. She was dressed this time in a lovely dress that matched her eyes.

He stopped, as he always did when he thought he saw her to stare and hope that it was truly the one he loved. Her hair was longer then he remembered almost reaching her shoulders, and she had gained weight, making her look less the skeleton and more the beauty that he knew her to be.

She was smiling at his mother, the scar across her eye curving like he remembered in that comical way, making him smile too. She had always been so lovely to him. Always his lovely little one. His little Evie.

And little she was. He had forgotten how small she had been, how slight she had been in his arms. Even standing and his mother sitting she barely reached her head. His little Evie had never had much to her.

The healthy glow in her cheeks was something else that he didn't remember. She had always looked so pale when he remembered her. Accept for when Dolph had returned to her life. Then she had had lots of color in her cheeks. As she did now. He sighed again, wanting more then anything for her to be real so he could hold her again. Just once would satisfy him.

A movement behind her caught his attention and he was shocked to see Dolph standing beside his Evie. That puzzled him because usually when he imagined Evie, he saw her alone. Maybe it was his guilty conscience for imaging a claimed woman as his own playing tricks on him.

But a page was striding towards them, breaking him from his fantasy and he had no more time to ponder.

"A note for you, your majesty," the page said after he had completed his bow. Ciem took it and dismissed the man, opening it without hesitation. It said quite simply, you have a visitor.

Ciem's head snapped up, back to his mother and Evie was still there, still talking and smiling with his mother. And Dolph was still standing behind her, hands folded behind his back, watching the crowd.

"Excuse me, my lady," Ciem said with a bow, he couldn't for the life of him, remember her name at the moment. He was to excited for the possibility of Evie being real was clouding his mind.

He walked as if through a dream to the throne, a dazed smile on him face and in his eyes. As he approached the Evie he saw straightened and met his eyes solemnly before her face spread into another smile. A special smile. One he had never seen before. One just for him.

"Hello Ciem," she whispered when he was within hearing. "It has been a long while. We need to talk."

* * *

Dolph smiled as Evie walked away with Ciem, knowing when they returned both would be much happier. Evie had been plain miserable while they had been apart. And though it hurt him to see her that way, there had been nothing he could do about it. 

"Is that the woman that he loves?" a soft voice asked. Dolph turned to see the beauty that Ciem had been dancing with watching the prince and Evie leave.

"Yes. That is she," he answered. He wanted to allow himself to see her emotions, but he had learned the hard way that it was rude to do such a thing to women without permition. His wife had often scolded him for it.

"She is lovely," the woman said with a sigh, her green eyes turning slightly darker. "I knew shewould be. Prince Ciem wouldn't settle for less then that. Is she nice?"

"Very much so, yes," Dolph answered, unable not too. The women was steadily drawing him in. Her blond hair was fascinating him, the way it turned gold when the candlelight struck it just so.

"Good. I want the best for him. I'm Mary, by the way," she said, turning to him and offering her hand. Dolph took it to bow over it as he knew was proper, but instead, found himself staring into her eyes intently as a spark singed through him.

The connection into her opened without his command and he found himself looking into her as he had never looked into someone before. And he found himself loving her, loving what made her who she was.

"I'm Dolph," he said, deciding he would marry her, as soon as he made her feel the same way about him as he felt about her. "Would you like to dance?"

"That would be lovely, Dolph," she smiled, as did he, and the seduction began.

* * *

Three months, Ciem thought as he nodded and offered his arm. It had been exactly three months since he had last seen her, in Dolph's giddy embrace. Hadn't he counted every day, agonized over them? It had taken all of his strength simply to move through the days, knowing that he couldn't have her. Knowing she was with someone else. 

All he said, though his thoughts were in such turmoil, was, "Yes it has. You're looking very well, Evie."

"Thank you, my prince," Evie whispered, her head bowed slightly. They had entered the gardens and were walking under the moonlight, the flower's scents teasing at them. How many times had he imagined walking with her here, just here? Where they could be alone and he could tell her how he truly felt and she would weep with joy and proclaim her love for him.

He remained silent as Evie bent slightly and grabbed a flower, bringing it to her nose and sniffing the scent before smiling up at him with that smile. The one that was just for him. He took the flower from her and placed it behind her ear, causing the smile to fade into a sad look.

"I've missed you Ciem. I've missed you very, very much. Why did you leave without saying goodbye to me?" her voice was small and weak with hurt. It wrenched at his heart, making him want to tell her the truth. But he couldn't. He couldn't take her from the man that she truly loved.

"We should be getting back to the ball. We wouldn't want to worry Dolph," Ciem said quietly as Evie watched him. He couldn't meet her gaze. He drew on her arm trying to turn her towards the palace, but she broke away and continued down the path. He followed her, helpless to do other wise.

"He isn't my keeper, Ciem. No one is. I came here tonight because I wanted an explanation for your actions that day. I won't leave until you tell me," her voice was hard, something he hadn't expected from her. He hadn't expected her to talk like that about the man she loved either. It threw him off a bit.

But what could he say to her? He couldn't tell her the truth, but he couldn't lie either. So he settled for the middle. "You were with Dolph and I didn't want to disturb you. And I needed to take Kempton to the palace. It just seemed easier if I left right away."

"You could have disturbed us Ciem. I would have wanted you to. Your goodbye was more important to me then Kempton's justice. But I guess I just didn't mean enough to you."

Again her words wrenched at his heart, but there was nothing he could do. She was turning to him, smiling and motioning for him to return to the castle with her. He wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole for the pain he had caused her.

"I guess we can go now that I have your explanation. Who was the woman that you were dancing with?" the question popped from her mouth before she could stop it. Evie could have cursed. She had promised herself that she wouldn't ask. He had obviously moved on while she had been away and who was she to stand in the way? He had never said that he had loved her, or that he even liked her for that matter. So why should he have to answer to her?

"My fiancé. We're to be married soon," he watched, fascinated as her face paled and she made a strangled sound in her throat. Was she upset about that?

"Married?" she croaked, grabbing at her throat as if to coax the sound into smoothness. "You're getting married?"

Ciem was amazed at the sound of her voice. And if he wasn't mistaken he was certain that he saw tears welling in her eyes. "Yes. In a few weeks time. In Serinda."

Evie felt as if her heart was being torn in two. She had lost her chance to have him. He had found someone else while she had been seeing to the last odds and ends of her duties. And now he was lost too her forever.

"Oh," her voice was thick with tears. He could hear them. "I…I wish you luck and lo…love."

She nearly choked on the words. Ciem was certain. And because of it, he felt a slow smile spread across his face. The first true one in a very long time.

"No, you don't. You don't wish that at all, do you?" she stared at him, and he could see the spark that entered her eyes. "What is it that you really wish, Evie?"

Before she could stop it, the truth spewed from her. "I wish that you had never met her!"

The silence that echoed around her voice was huge as she stared wide-eyed at Ciem. But it was to late, and once started, Evie could not stop the truth. "I wish that you had never met her, the stupid perfect little wretch. I wish that you weren't marrying her, and that you didn't love her, and that she wasn't the one that you wanted.

"I wish that you had never left me without saying goodbye and that Dolph had had the sense to tell you the truth. That you didn't have to return to Serinda and that you loved me and that I didn't love you and that I wasn't miserable without you and that we could be together forever. And I wish that you knew where I truly belonged because then you would see how things are meant to be."

Evie was crying now, and beating on his chest weakly as all the misery that she had felt while apart from him was finding a release. Ciem just watched her shocked as she continued heedlessly.

"I wish that you weren't such a blind fool and that you could see what was right in front of your face. That you could now the truth. That we could go back in time and have everything set right. I wish that you weren't so stupid as to allow me to slip away. That I hadn't allowed _you_ to slip away. I wish that I had a fairy godmother that could make everything better, or could at least make me feel better about myself. And I wish I did love Dolph like a man instead of like a brother because then I wouldn't love you! But most of all I wish that I could forget I ever met you so I wouldn't hurt when I think about you and about all the things that we can never have because you went and got engaged while I was busy trying to get to you, you big stupid, handsome idiot!"

Evie finally stopped and collapsed against his chest, sobbing as she hugged herself close to him. When his arms came around her, hugging her as fiercely as she was hugging him, she didn't notice. She was to wrapped up in losing him to care that she had just got him back.

Ciem maneuvered them over to a bench, sitting down and drawing her into his lap, holding her close, as he had wanted to do for so long. He sniffed at her hair, knowing that this was what he needed in his life. He had been a fool to ever let her go. A fool to believe that he had been doing the right thing by allowing Dolph to have her. She had never even loved Dolph that way! He would never let her go again.

"Evie, my love, shush," he said against her head and she quieted. "Tell me what you meant by all those wishes. Explain to me what I can do for you."

"No. I was a fool to even say those things. You're engaged to be married. I have no right to want you for myself," she sniffed as she laid her head against his shoulder, facing away from him.

"So you do want me for yourself?" he asked, teasing her because he couldn't help himself.

"Yes, I mean no. I mean… regardless of what I want, I can't have you," her voice was quiet with defeat.

"Oh, Evie, what fools we've been. I thought you were the one I couldn't have because you had Dolph. That's why I left you. And I foolishly engaged that women because I knew I could never forget you. I figured any women would do because no one could replace you in my heart.

"Evie, my sweet, I've loved you for what seems like forever, I'm just sorry that it's taken so long for us to figure it out," he kissed her head and rubbed her back, waiting for her to respond.

"You… you love me?" she whispered, sounding like a child who was being offered everything she could ever want.

"With all that I am I love you Evelyn of Kenneth. I love every scar on you body, and every notch in your heart. You are the one that I will always love and always want to be with. Can you ever forgive me for letting you go?"

Evie turned her face to stare at him, wanting to see the truth in his eyes, even though she could feel it through the connection in their bodies. A light began to shine in her eyes as she stared at him.

"Only if you can forgive me for letting you go, my prince, my love," she was smiling now, a wide smile that she couldn't contain.

"What about Dolph?" Ciem asked, wanting to make sure the words that he had heard earlier from her were true.

"The best brother a girl could ever ask for," she said with a laugh. Ciem laughed also, standing with her in his arms and spinning around, sending her into more laughter.

He came to a stop and gently lowered her feet to the ground. She sighed as his lips meet her in a kiss of true love.

This, she thought as Ciem's arms wrapped around her, holding her tight, is where I truly belong.

AN. Tissues anyone? Don't we all jsut love happy endings? And in case you ahve any questions, yes, Kempton was found guilty and hung after a very quick trial. And now, for the epilogue.


	19. Epilogue

AN So here it is. The last part of this story. Doesn't it make you sad? Well, enjoy.

Epilogue:

Evie smiled as she squeezed her husband's hand tighter, watching as the ship that would take them to Serinda was secured to the dock at Pirate's Swoop. Ciem looked down at her and smiled. They had been married for several months now, but had decided to stay with Evie's father, DeGraw for a while before returning to Ciem's country.

Evie's hand slid gently down to rest over her slightly swollen stomach, feeling the baby inside of her moving. She smiled again and beamed at Ciem, knowing that together they would make that child the happiest in the world.

The people on the docks were cheering for them as Novellee and Burdock disembarked from the boat. They had decided to come as a welcoming party.

Novellee's face lighted when she saw Evie's rounded stomach. It hadn't been a secret for long that she had wanted grandchildren. The older woman rushed to the couple and enfolded both in an embrace before turning to Dolph and his fiancée, Mary, and smiling.

"I'm glad to see that you are all well," Burdock beamed before embracing his son roughly. He turned to Evie and embraced her too, but treated her with more gentleness. The connection filled her with the warmth of a father's love as she smiled at him.

"Are we ready to return to Serinda?" Novellee asked, bestowing a smile upon them all. Evie, who was about to nod, felt a slight prickling at the back of her neck.

She turned to see a small figure in the crowd, a woman no older then twenty watching them with eyes the she recognized. Ciem's eyes.

Evie reached out with her Gift and touched the young woman and felt in her something that she always felt in Ciem, pride and arrogance.

But it wasn't so much the emotions that she felt in the girl that spooked her, it was how closely they matched to the way Ciem's emotions felt.

It was almost as if… almost as if the two were related.

Evie stared after the girl a moment longer before shrugging it off and turning back to Novellee. "Yes, we're ready. I can't wait to see my new home."

Ciem smiled and slipped his arm around her and she knew that no matter where she was, her home would always be with Ciem.

AN, well I left you with the possibility of a sequel kinda. So, give me some feedback if you want one.

Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed my story:

Beth, Lain the Fluff-Master, ..., Gothamin, christiangrl247, Mage Light, pinkpenguin0000, warrior of tortall, je suis une pizza, Helkardowen, Yogi75, The Lioness Mage, Great Merciful Goddess, Queensrider, politicalcheerleader123, lindalee4, Dragon Shadows, CheeryFaerie, AngstWolf, balloonfuzz, Tuathial, yamani, Parcheezie, and steph.

And everyone else who didn't review so I don't have names for. lol.

Nubia


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